How Does Patrick Suskind Use Perfume

The author’s use of characters allowed the reader

the characters. The story reminds his audience that a man is more than a father. He is

Having each story been written in a third-person narrative form, the reader knows the innermost feelings of the

As the story continues, we begin see and smell the world through Grenouille and somewhat adapt to his unnatural personality. Whatever attachment the reader has with Grenouille at this point is suddenly crippled when he commits his first murder. Although a point of view is given through the victim’s senses as well as Grenouille’s, there is a sudden shock to the discovery his deadly intentions, which up until now no one, not even himself, thought he was capable of: “he did not look at her, did not see her delicate, freckled face, her red lips, her large sparkling green eyes, keeping his eyes closed tight as he strangled her, for he had only one concern—not to lose the least trace of her scent” (42, Ch. 8). By painting a vivid picture of a beautiful innocent girl that Grenouille could not see (as he was closing his eyes), the narrator leaves readers with only feelings of disgust towards Grenouille and his selfish, cold-blooded thirst for scent. This situation could only been sufficiently told through the narrative mode used, and now readers begin to lose all sympathy towards

thought, and experiences instead of only hearing from one person. Having style in stories like

The room was musty and dimly lit. A heavy curtain was drawn across the only window, allowing only a slight and pathetic slant of balmy sunlight to slip in. Faintly, the air tasted of dog urine and stray fur—a fusty undertone hovering beneath ghostly.

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.

Characterisation, through dialogue and free indirect disclosure allows readers to perceive for themselves the personality and agendas of each individual.

because through his first person narrative, the reader is drawn to his sensitive nature, his

used the character’s conversation and the setting of the story to tell the reader what he is trying to

relate to the characters’ feelings, by providing vivid descriptions of the setting, as well as

In doing this, he is letting the reader into his personal experience, regardless of what

Furthermore, he links smell with memory and adds that smell is by far one of the strongest mediums that add to the memory of an experience. He then brings into his argument the presence of man by discussing, time and the sense of proportion - as man is designed to perceive in comparison to his self - and action where man measures through moving within a space.

For instance, he describes in detail situations that the other member of the community experienced, like when the Board of Aldermen sent a deputation to her home or when the drug store clerk sold her the poison. These scenes were described with perfect first-person perspective. On the other hand, these scenes also say a great deal about the narrator as well.

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.