Patrick Suskind's Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer

2Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, the character in Perfume, is a man born with no natural smell and sets out on a journey to capture the scent of life. A scent unrivaled by any other human. Grenouille’s journey truly begins as he is taken into town to deliver skins to a perfume maker, during his visit his sense of smell is enlightened by multiple fragrances. None of which match the beauty of a young women he follows through the streets. In his attempt to satisfy his desire to partake of the young woman’s aroma he suffocates her and loses her smell forever.

of the story through the characters and their actions or gestures. These actions are visible in

In the spring of 1734, a fire occurred in Montreal that destroyed a hospital and 45 homes on rue Saint-Paul. Criminal proceedings were soon underway against Marie-Josephe dite Angelique, a Black slave, and her White lover, Claude Thibault. The majority of those who were present fled the scene, leaving Angelique on her own to prove her innocence. Twenty some witnesses filed before the judge, all of which were convinced that the slave of the widow Francheville was guilty, yet not one was able to place her at the scene of the crime, or be able to attest to having seen Angelique setting the hospital on fire. [Who committed crime, What does this tell us about their society Thesis Insert]

Throughout the story “Perfume” by Patrick Suskind, Grenouille is presented as an outsider who is a product of both social and moral decay shown through his birth, description of the setting and description of Grenouille’s characteristics.

Jitterbug Perfume is a story of epic proportions, spanning a time-frame of almost one thousand years. The protagonist,

The Characterisation of Grenouille throughout the novel highlights the cruelty of society, and it can be suggested again that it was in fact nurture rather than nature which caused him to spiral out of control. The title of the novel “the making of a murderer” is, in itself, interesting, as the characteristics of a murderer include “spending a lot of time alone and having few friends, and they often feel alienated from the rest of the world. They are depressed, angry and often feel humiliated” (unknown 2017). The main character has been subjected to rejection, abandonment and at just four years old the children in the orphanage tried to smother him in his sleep. Grenouille subjects himself to alienation from society after he has a complete mental breakdown after working as a perfume apprentice, and retreats up a mountain and lives in a cave for many years.

, the characters in the story often show emotions whether it be externally or internally. The

It was the night of the Templar’s anniversary and Aguilar was making his way through the swamp of the dead to reach the city of Spain. Aguilar was like any other person with casual clothes and leading a flock of sheep. But he was actually sent to assassinate the king and to retrieve the apple of Eden in order to balance the world and it’s free will. Many of the foreign assassins had already tried to kill the King, but they ended up with their head on the end of a spear. But tonight it was different, the Assassin Brotherhood is fear by all people in power across the world because they are everywhere.

Absentia is ever present where matters of the heart are concerned- however it was not Louis nor Boudreaux that occupied my thoughts or that my body longed for- no, it was her- the flaming haired beauty whose touch had been as fleeting as a summer rain, but soaked deeper than a slow long drizzle that lasted all the day long. Those few hours with her haunted my every waking moment once I left Boudreaux’s plantation. I wanted her lips- her tongue - I wanted to feel her touch on my flesh again. I wanted to touch her- to taste her sweet juices. Come dark, cloaked in the garments of a commoner, I prowled the city streets in search of her. I felt her near several times but when I searched the darkened doorways and alleyways, I did not find her. On one occasion, I come upon two men embracing- their lips searching each other’s; their hands frantically tugging at the others clothing. Fascinated, I stepped into the shadows to watch. I knew what they were feeling; the need, the insatiable hunger; I had

according to Gaster's list; the impression given was that victim and killer were Italians. The coroner's report indicated that both Dominique Trebigue and Jean Marie Trebigue (the actual names) were natives of France (33).

For example in the story,

The Village of Cannibals, by Alain Corbin, describes the factors that lead to the murder of an innocent noble. The peasants in the town of Hautefaye were gathered at the local fairgrounds where a dispute erupted between a group of men and a noble. The conflict derived from political issues that were brought to attention through the rumors that spread through France. The government responded swiftly to the crime and reacted with the execution of the alleged murders. The French public reacted, in statements made, that violence as a form of political expression would no longer be tolerable. Rumor and politics were the two factors that led to the judgment of the peasants to commit the crime and the judgment of the government to sentence the murders to punishment and death.

Scent was also an important factor of beauty. Women who smelled good were presumed to be healthy. Due to the stench of many of the ingredients used in cosmetics at the time, women often drenched themselves in copious amounts of perfume.

As a German writer, the reason for which Patrick Suskind wrote his critically-acclaimed novel, Perfume, in a French setting, about the French, is questionable. However, candidate answers lie in the setting of the novel itself. Mid-18th century France, which is adjacent to Suskind’s Germany, harboured not only a national, but global revolution of politics, economics, and social norms through the French reforms. This had plentiful influence on all aspects of Prussia since the late 17th century (when Germany was known as Prussia) to the present. This stepping stone to a change in practicality lied in the French Revolution and the change of identity that it instilled upon the populace. An exploration of Grenouille and perfume in Perfume reveals their symbolism of the critical transition from religious prominence, to humanistic considerations, to nihilistic extremes that ensued national and global chaos after the French Revolution to represents its influence on Germany and its constituent populace.

In Perfume, Patrick Süskind depicts 18th century Europe, where the people’s lifestyles are based on their economic and social class. The protagonist of the story, Grenouille, is used as a channel by Süskind to provide his criticism of the culture rooted in the setting. Superficiality is used by Süskind, where vague comparisons are made between certain concepts or characters and generalizations are made by society. Süskind, in his novel, Perfume, utilities the aspect of superficiality in order to promulgate his critical viewpoint of 18th-century European society where individuality is discouraged and conformity is seen as the norm.