Federico Gana

In October 1890, his first published work, the short story ¡Pobre vieja!, appeared in the weekly La Actualidad, under the pseudonym Pedro Simple.

[1] In 1894, Gana published another short story, this time in publication El año Literario, that was initially titled Por un perro, but later came to be called Un carácter.

In this manner with his first published story in 1890, ¡Pobre vieja!, he subtly reveals his interest in vernacular literary elements; the same occurs with Por un perro, in 1894.

Yet this first rapprochement of the Chilean countryside (which Gana experienced firsthand during his childhood summer vacations to the country near and around Linares) does not reveal the depth and concern of Baldomero Lillo and other subsequent criollistas.

La señora and Paulita, can be seen as a two stories that most encapsulate the ideas and writing style of Gana, as they reflect many of the virtues that are often characterized in his narrative and poetic work.