Goytisolo's women, trapped by life and history, offer us a deformed and grotesque glimpse of what is generally accepted as the feminine essence. Part of this vision relates to the author's rejection of a reality and morality belonging to the middle classes; but in the process of destroying institutions he also destroys relationships involving women. In spite of his male protagonists' cool detachment from "happenings," they react solipsistically, using women as passive entities through which they can project their own modifications and thus attempt to free themselves from some tormenting problem. Whether or not woman adheres to outmoded Spanish codes, she serves as a kind of backdrop against which the action occurs, though she herself may be victim, oppressor, lover, mother, dream image, or whore.

Goytisolo's male protagonists, sadistic and negative, employ pejorative descriptions which reflect the lack of spiritual implications involved in their reaction to women. Though...