“Perfume: The Story of a Murderer” is a 1985 literary historical fantasy novel by German writer Patrick Süskind and translated into English by John E. Woods. This novel examines Jean Baptiste Grenouille’s exceptional olfaction and its relationship with the mental and emotional meaning that scents may have in 18th century France. Across the story, Grenouille’s sense of smell leads him to carry out various actions, from becoming a perfumer to murdering women purely for their scent. “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer” takes place during the Age of Reason: the time period in which European politics, philosophy, science and communications were radically reoriented. This provides background information to readers of the world Grenouille lives in. Throughout Perfume, Suskind answers this question by presenting Grenouille as a product of moral and social decay which affected him his entire life. With this question in mind, Suskind analyzes and answers this in Jean Baptiste Grenouille point of view and provides evidence for the magnitude of Grenouille’s decay.
From his infanthood, Grenouille has been a product of social and moral decay. Suskind implies the conditions that Grenouille was born in as horrid for a child; “beneath a swarm of flies and amid the offal and fish heads they discover a newborn child” (Suskind 3). Suskind’s intent from the beginning of the story is to create a background for Grenouille’s character and how it shapes him into the individual that he becomes. Suskind also draws a parallel to the selfishness of the characters when they are deciding what to do with the infant Grenouille. He states on page 4 that “‘I understand’, said Terrier, almost relieved. ‘I catch your drift. Once again it’s a matter of money… when there’s a knock at this gate, it’s a matter of money’”. The effect of Terriers criticism is understanding the universal truth that monetary status heavily influences the decisions made because people do not want to risk their social and economic status. Grenouille also experiences social decay through the wet nurse’s claim that he is possessed by the devil (Suskind 5). Because all newborn babies are believed to contain a scent, the wet nurse automatically assumes that he is in a state of evil from birth. This is one of Suskind’s first examples of the basis of scent’s importance in “Perfume: The Story of a Murder” as he utilizes it in order to foreshadow the other times in the novel in which scent plays a large role in how he is identified.
18th century France plays a crucial role in Grenouille’s development as a character, but also towards his decay, morally and socially. Suskind likely chose this setting because the Enlightenment took place during this time period and France was one of other countries that was affected. In addition, Suskind addresses the health issues in the part of France in which Grenouille lives; he states on page 1 that “the streets stank of manure, the courtyards of urine.. The bedrooms of greasy sheets, damp featherbeds…”. Grenouille has not only lived with a mother who had ill-treated him, but even the furniture in the houses contributes to a loss of personal morale. The streets have also not been cleaned; as a result, sickness and disease prevail and even thrive. Suskind parallels this to the the Third Estate in French history, which represented the great majority of the people: the poor, unprivileged, or underprivileged. The Third Estate was so unhappy because they had 95% of the people which were peasants and they were treated poorly and overlooked by the two higher estates; therefore, those of Third Estate needed to work extremely hard to earn a sufficient living. This helps to explain why Grenouille was put in a dangerous spot by his mother as children are very burdensome economically. Suskind adds that “the rivers stank, the marketplaces stank, the churches stank…” (Suskind 1), which contributes to Grenouille’s decay as an individual. This decay of heart leads him to kill others purely for their scent.
Grenouille being born in a dirty, rotten fish market indicates his evil nature as it is one of the dirtiest locations in France. This is important because not only does it address Grenouille’s living conditions and how they affected him, but also because it allows Suskind to introduce the large role scent plays; “The peasant stank as did the priest, the apprentice as did his master’s wife” (Suskind 1). Nobody, not even the priest, was safe from the toxicity of the surrounding area. Suskind justifies how foul the location is using descriptive diction: “The heat lay leaden upon the graveyard, squeezing its putrefying vapor… out in the nearby alleys” (Suskind 2). These details regarding scent are used to convey the setting that Suskind attempts to provide. They further explain Grenouille’s decay as an individual as he is born in the most putrid spot in the whole kingdom.
Suskind portrays Grenouille’s characteristics and beliefs from a third person point of view in order for readers to have a window into his mindset. Grimal does not actively try to hurt Grenouille, he does not treat him much like a human being either. This is shown when Suskind narrates the following: "By evening his clothes were dripping wet and his skin was cold and swollen… Grimal no longer kept him as just any animal, but as a useful house pet” (Suskind 31-32). Suskind compares Grenouille to a common household animal, describing to readers that, socially and morally, Grenouille has decayed. Pets are at the service of people, so Grenouille being treated like one indicates that his morals are not being considered when others utilize him. Grenouille begins to hate humanity, so he retreats to the farthest point in which humans cannot get to him: he top of a volcano in the Massif Centrale. Suskind explains that “He had withdrawn from society for his own personal pleasure, only to be near to himself," (Suskind 123); no human being holds any interest or love for him. Therefore, Suskind delves into the idea of social decay and how it contributes to Grenouille’s moral decay. Suskind also compares and contrasts the cannibals’ actions to Grenouille’s decay. Grenouille and the cannibals are compared because of how the decay has affected them (the ruffians began to eat people), but they are contrasted because “they had done something out of love” (Suskind 255), unlike what Grenouille received from society.
It is not proper to consider “Perfume: The Story of a Murder” as simply a novel regarding a human with supernatural abilities and scents during a time period in France. France provides a background into the decay that Grenouille faces from the moment he is born because the living conditions were extremely unsuitable for children. Suskind connects the olfactory importance and how people utilize it in distinguishing another individual to the idea of loneliness, which Grenouille suffers from. This is a reason for Grenouille’s social decay; he creates a perfume that emanates a scent of love, which is the only way the common person can display a liking towards him. This social decay contributes heavily to Grenouille’s moral decay because he is angry at the people for how they have treated him. This moral decay leads him to murder countless people simply for their scent; there is no prize that is worth a life. Nature and nurture play a large role in human development and this is no exception for Grenouille; he was even put into a well and suffocated when he was a baby, but ended up surviving. As with any human, the manner in which Grenouille was raised affected him greatly, and in the end, it led to a socially and morally decayed life.