POTPOURRI

Potpourri was released from press as Eugenio Cambaceres left Buenos Aires for Europe. This circumstance, plus the fact that the book omitted the authors name -though he was immediately and correctly identified- added to the highly visible position of Cambaceres in the local society, the many clues and social allusions within the text, and the style and tone of the writing, all contributed to secure it an immediate and smashing success. The scathing critique of the Buenos Aires bourgeoisie unleashed bitter comments, that fostered press runs never seen before in the country. Some readers condemned the book invoking the ultimate need to kindle the tenuous, and recently obtained, home political peace, whilst others directly related the content to the French naturalist novel and pornography. As a matter of fact the accusation of licentiousness was no more than a pretext waved by a prudish oligarchy in its efforts to hide a less than glorious social reality, deeply contrasted with the positivism and free thinking progress stance it flaunted. Though the content can appear as a fierce condemnation, even a pamphlet, against social hypocrisy, uncaring feminine education, the triumph of money and the new rich but uneducated portion of society, the writing also shows high specific literary qualities