Perfume: Difference between revisions

{{work|wppage=Perfume (novel)}}

A 1985 [[Lit Fic|Gothic novel]] by Patrick Süskind, '''''Perfume''''' (or '''''Das Parfüm''''' in the original German) tells the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, an orphan and a sociopath born into 18th century France. It turns out that Grenouille has an extraordinary sense of smell, but, curiously, he himself has no body odour.

It was adapted into a 2006 film: ''[[Perfume: The Story of a Murderer]]'', directed by Tom Tykwer, most known for his film ''[[Run Lola Run]]''. The film stars Ben Whishaw as Grenouille, [[Dustin Hoffman]] as Baldini, the perfumer who teaches him the basics of the trade, Rachel Hurd-Wood as Laura Richis, a beautiful and imperiled lady in Grenouille's sights, and Alan Rickman as Antoine Richis, Laura's protective father.

* [[Asexuality]]: Grenouille has no interest in sex, at least not as we know it. He gains all his pleasures from scents.

* [[The Bad Guy Wins]]: {{spoiler|Grenouille kills Laura, creates his perfume, and escapes execution. However, he finds that his perfume doesn't grant him happiness.}}

* [[Beauty Equals Goodness]]: Played straight in the case of Grenouille. In the book he's a deformed, troll-like man. In the film he's got a case of [[Hollywood Homely]].

* [[The Dung Ages]]: The slums of 18th century France are a filthy and disgusting place. The book and film go into particular length about the foul odors. In the book, Grenouille's mother is described as "relatively handsome", meaning here that she's still some teeth left in her mouth and some hair on her head, no diseases except syphilis, gout and a slight case of tuberculosis, and expects to live for a long time - five or even ten years. Parisians were banned from expanding outside the city walls, and the filth, pollution and overcrowding were a major contributor to the French Revolution. On the other hand, the countryside and wealthy parts of France are portrayed as [[Scenery Porn|quite gorgeous]].

* [[Gay Paree]]: Parts of the story take place in Paris, though lower-class areas are [[The Dung Ages|pretty squalid]].

* [[Hard Work Hardly Works]]: Empowered by his super-human sense of smell, Grenouille is a vastly superior perfume maker than Baldini and even his more successful rivals, despite their decades of experience.

* [[Lonely Atat the Top]]: {{spoiler|Grenouille's completed perfume gives him the power to rule the world, but he realizes that it won't make him happy, so he commits suicide instead.}}

* [[Mummies At the Dinner Table]]: After killing the Plum Girl, Grenouille strips her naked and smells her until her scent fades.

* [[The Nondescript]]: Grenouille has no scent of his own, causing people to instinctively treat him as a cipher beneath their notice. Even a watchdog ignores him. This is part of his motivation to create the perfect scent.

* [[Non-Idle Rich]]: The wealthy leaders of Grasse, lead by Antoine Richis, work to stop the serial killer.

* [[Trippy Finale Syndrome]]: {{spoiler|Grenouille uses his completed perfume to cause the crowd at his execution to fall into a massive orgy. Later, he dumps the entire bottle over his head, causing a nearby crowd to ''eat him.'' Wow.}}

* [[Utopia Justifies the Means]]: Grenouille wants to create heaven on earth with his perfect perfume, and he's willing to kill without remorse to get it. {{spoiler|When he finally makes the perfume, however, he finds the love that it grants him is hollow.}}

[[Category:{{World Fantasy Award]] Novel}}

[[Category:TheLiterature Eightiesof the 1980s]]

[[Category:German MediaFilms]]