Societal critiques in the novel "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" (Das Parfum: Die Geschichte eines Mörders)


How does the author Patrick Suskind critique societal views with metaphors about status, beauty and desire in the book Perfume?

Click here to see Work Cited!


"Perfume" by Patrick Suskind follows Grenouille, a french boy born with no scent but an extraordinary sense of smell. After being rejected by his own family and caretakers, Grenouille then becomes obsessed with discovering the perfect scent. This perfect scent becomes Grenouille's identity, as he thinks curating a perfect perfume will finally fulfill him. On Grenouille's journey, he becomes a Perfumer and murders 24 young women with the intent to preseve their young virgin scents. After finally being caught for the murders, Grenouille wore the perfume made of his victims to get away with the killings. His plan worked, and people who were then disgusted by Grenouille now were in awe of his desirable scent.
Even after receiving the power and treatment he had always wanted, Grenouille realises he is still not happy or fulfilled. Grenouille, now disapointed that the people in the vilage did what he expected of them, plans a return back to the fish market where he was born and abandoned. Grenouille then commits suicide by pouring the whole bottle of perfume onto himself, knowing that his scent would be so powerful and desirable that the crowd would have no choice but to take Grenouille for themselves and consume him.

       

The power of Grenouille's smell:

At the climax of the book, Grenouille murders a young virgin woman and creates a purfume with her scent. Unlike any part before this, Grenouille's sense of smell was only ever seem as a flaw.
Scent is used numerous times as a metaphor for power or class, and all things good or beautiful in general. The Symbol of scent in Perfume is one's character and who they are, so of course Grenouille, lacking such a crucial trait, had ultimately meant that he had no sense identity to himself or others. Just like class or social status, he was seen as unimpressive or unattractive simply because of his inherant disanvantage. On the other hand, the most desirable were mostly innocent, which Grenouille himself was not.
Grenouille struggled with his own desertion the moment he was born, (being discarded after his mother realised he had not sent), but also with how he is treated by others that know of his incredible sense of smell. What would typically be seen as a “gift” was then a reason for those who knew him personally to call Grenouille demonic. Making perfume gave Grenouille purpose, but also meant that he had to kill. His undeniable scorn for humanity only further justified the murders by fulfilling both his need for purpose and control.

Grenouille's Dehuminization:

Paris is the capital of France.

Metaphors for Status and how they relate todays society:

Tokyo is the capital of Japan.

Covers symbolism & verisons Jupiter and Antiope:

        

The by far most popular cover for the book perfume is of the famous painting "Jupiter and Antiope" by Antoine Watteau. (the fourth picture featured above)
The painting famously depicts Zeus disguising himself as a Sator, preying over the sleeping Antiope. This is just moments before he rapes and impregnants her with two twins, who later kill Nycteus's brother in revenge for Antiopes mistreatment. (Museum of Fine Arts Ghent)
The painting represents the theme of seduction, vulnerability, but most importantly revenge. In many ways the cover almost exactly forshadows Grenouille's subsequent rise and fall, aswell as the power he initally felt when creating the "perfect scent". Just as Jupiter (Zeus) preys over Antiope, Grenouille's first victim was a so-called "young virgin girl". This could easily be a metaphor to show how Grenouille was seeking to find innocence and "purity" which he thought would be necessary for such a perfect scent. The cover perfectly forshadows the beginning of Grenouille's demise, and the books first taste of Grenuille's dual nature humanity.

Because of the popularity of the Greek story, there are of course many different variations of the painting. The paintings artists (naming left to right) are Antonio Allegri da Correggio, Rembrandt van Rijn, Edouard Manet, and Antoine Watteau.


“It argues that there are cognitive and experiential motivations for the metaphoric mappings in the sense of smell in the novel.”
“Our cognitive model of the external world, as far as it is based on perception, derives mainly from the sense of vision, a fact that provides motivated explanation for certain aspects of language structure. We see and know through our eyes, and a representation of the world through an alternative modality should resort to equally alternative ways of expression. “
“The Story of a Murderer enhance the novel's themes of obsession and the dual nature of humanity.”
“Perfume symbolizes Grenouille's quest for the perfect scent and the psychological impact of scent, while also serving as a metaphor for masking humanity's evil nature. Characters and settings, such as Grenouille and the fish market, represent death, psychopathy, and the sins of humanity, deepening the understanding of the novel's exploration of morality and identity.” “Grenouille is pictured as an unattractive and plain young man. He is the kind of man where people would never notice his presence until he talks because Grenouille did not possessed body smell.”
“His odourless body is one of the reason he’s being hatred and shunned. People hate him for being different, some even thought of him as a devil”
“People tend to love others who smell good and some even fall in love with how fresh and nice the scent is and eventually, start to love the person who carries them. However, it’s rare to have a good natural scent of body odours. Therefore, people start wearing perfumes to gain confidence and scent good impressions hoping that love may comes naturally.”