Perfume

First published:Das Parfum: Die Geschichte eines Mörders (1985; English translation, 1986)

Type of work: Novel

Type of plot: Fantasy—superbeing

Time of work: The mid-eighteenth century

Locale: Paris, Grasse, and elsewhere in France

The Plot

Perfume subtitled The Story of a Murder) is the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a man with a phenomenal sense of smell who lives in mid-eighteenth century France.

From the start, there is something sinister about Grenouille. The author calls him a tick and a monster. Misfortune strikes those around him, and there is something chilling about his presence, as though a draft comes into the room when he is around. Only Grenouille realizes that this is a result of his complete lack of scent. He is too willful and ambitious to let fear and censure keep him from his goals. In his mind, he knows that he is Grenouille the Great and that one day he will rule the world through his unique ability.

During his childhood and well into his teens, Grenouille spends his time mentally cataloging the thousands of different scents he comes across daily in Paris. He combines them to form new smells, much as a composer might do with musical sounds. Grenouille is able to “compose” all sorts of new aromas, leading to his success in the field of perfumes. His success is not public, however; not only does he prefer to remain anonymous, but in addition the perfumer for whom he works, Maître Baldini, takes all the credit for the hundreds of perfumes Grenouille creates.

All the significant people in Grenouille’s life are greedy and take advantage of him: Madame Gaillard, who ironically has no sense of smell; Grimal the tanner, who treats Grenouille humanely only after he lives through a disease; Maître Baldini, who never trusts or respects Grenouille despite the incredible riches and renown Grenouille brings him; the Marquis de La Taillade-Espinasse, who uses Grenouille to fund exploration of his personal “scientific” theories; and Druot, who is too busy making love to his former master’s widow to do his share of labor in the perfumery.

None of this seems to bother Grenouille. He has his own agenda and is unaffected by others’ greed; he never learned the difference between right and wrong and learned to be greedy and selfish like those around him. From his youth, Grenouille learned that if he is patient and compliant, things will come to him.

It is Grenouille’s sense of smell that determines his life. He is never fooled by appearances; in fact, he rarely bothers to look at people or things. He does not fear the dark, and he does not learn words that do not express things he can smell.

Grenouille is nearly thirty when he arrives in Grasse, the perfume capital of the world. He has been living for seven years in a cave, reliving his olfactory memories. His ultimate plan is clarified when he catches the scent of a young girl, a scent that he recognizes as beauty. Realizing that it will be a few years before the scent fully develops, Grenouille works and practices his techniques for scent extraction, first on inanimate objects, then on small animals, and finally on young girls. He eventually manages to capture and bottle the absolute essence of beauty, which he plans to use to rule the world. Grenouille discovers, however, that there is no satisfaction in ruling people who do not even understand his power. He realizes that his greatness will never be understood and decides to end his life.