Hubbell has an M. Litt. from the University of Aberdeen and is currently pursuing a Ph. D. in history at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. In the following essay, he explores the way in which Vargas Llosa exposes the construct of military masculinity as it displaces machismo.

The Time of the Hero, with its militaristic anthem and its critical investigation of masculinity, puts one in mind of those stories which support the warrior code. Many early reviews said that the novel was anti-military but only because it showed the messiness behind the uniforms. In point of fact, the novel takes no position on the military—it simply describes how homosocial networks function within the very hierarchical environment of the military and reflect a preestablished hypocritical ideology surrounding the marriage institution. Each example of parenthood shown to us reveals a fractured state of marriage whose...