Displaced Spanish men: Masculinity, sexuality, and migration in Hemos perdido el sol (1963), by Ángel María de Lera

Abstract

This article analyzes the interconnections between masculinity and migration in the work Hemos perdido el sol, by Ángel María de Lera. The novel depicts the challenging experiences of Spanish migrants in Germany in the 1960s and the different conception of gender between Spanish and German cultures. The impact of migration on the main character’s masculinity is threefold. First, migration enhances his traditional sense of masculinity as he escapes poverty and subsequently feels more respected as a man when he achieves economic independence. Secondly, migration negatively affects his masculinity through the insecurities and discrimination he endures abroad. Lastly, although he adjusts his conventional male behavior at the beginning of his extramarital relationship with a German woman, his understanding of virility remains unaltered and he soon restores his traditional Spanish masculinity. The final message of the novel is that Spanish men’s relationships with German women are not meant to be successful due to cultural differences and divergent gender models.