In 1895, José Gil Fortoul wrote the novel Passions. He developed the plot in that Caracas of “eternal spring” and illuminated by the knowledge of the Central University; a city especially desired by young people from the provinces, eager for cosmopolitan experiences as longed for by the main protagonist of the work, the Andean Enrique Aracil.
The old Plaza Bolívar was part of the setting for that idyll; a place of political harangues and passionate debates between university students and those interested in universal knowledge; they met, basically, on Thursday and Sunday nights, summoned by the “retreta”: “Very young, very good friends, united by the reciprocal attraction of their intelligences, even though they were dedicated to different careers and occupations… they had established a kind of night circle in the Plaza Bolívar, where they commented on the events of the day, formed literary projects, talked about the Government and discussed the political problems of the day…”.
In this regard, the author referred to Lisandro Alvarado as fundamental psychological traits of his characters: “I took those phrases from Keats as the theme of Passions because it seemed to me that all the characters (Aracil, Lodi, Delsol, Castel) were going through that period in life when we don't yet know which path we will ultimately follow, because we are drawn to contradictory passions or ideals from all sides. Imagination then has more influence than reasoning, and passions, both good and bad, erupt violently…”
The dilettantism of that generation can be seen in the ironic and pessimistic description he made of the daily activities of each of them: “before leaving each one to the theater, to the Club del Ávila, to the Society of Friends of Science, to a dance, to make visits or to sleep”, they would ardently discuss sociopolitical problems within the rational framework of civilization and barbarism.
After describing the political, social, and literary sensibilities of each character, the author legitimized the thesis of the main protagonist, Aracil, who based his proposal on the precepts of evolutionary theory and ideology. Human beings (and not the doctrines that sustain political parties) influence the modification of the environment to achieve the desired progress. For this reason, the author wholeheartedly supported the regime of Juan Vicente Gómez.
