The art of perfuming embodies the creation of humanity through Suskind’s novel, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. The art of perfuming consists of three main stages of development, or dissipation, that must be acknowledged in order for the perfume to be successful. Perfume must live through time; through youth, maturity, and old age in order to be successful. The first stage of dissipation of the head of a perfume exposes the selfish human being during its youth. The second stage of dissipation of the heart of the perfume represents the true desires and purpose of a human being that is exposed in its time of maturity. The final stage of dissipation of the base of the perfume embodies the soul which exposes the malevolent behavior of humanity.
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The head of a perfume is the first scent to dissipate once the perfume is released into the world. Much like a child in the emergence of their life, the head of a perfume contains the most pleasant scent as it embodies the essence of youth. The innocence of youth lasts only for a small amount of time like the head of a perfume because a human being becomes selfish in its youth to ensure survival. Grenouille begins his first day of life with a selfish act of survival because once he cried out after his birth it was his “…decision against love and nevertheless for life” (Suskind, 21). Grenouille decides to cry in the fish market in order to survive because his mother left him abandoned in the fish market. Since his mother did not attempt to love him, this caused Grenouille to choose life over love. Similar to Grenouille’s selfish act as a child, his disposable pawns offer the same level of selfishness to achieve success. Madame Gaillard, for instance, takes care of unwanted children only to receive money in order to have a private death. She lacked emotion, passion, and “showed no preference for any one of the children entrusted to her” (19). She only cared about making her money, and therefore she did not care for Grenouille. Gaillard’s selfishness led her to become a pawn in Grenouille’s game of survival because she could not offer him love, the one true …show more content…
The heart of a perfume, the second level of the dissipation process, manifests the finest natural essences of a perfume and lasts the longest through time. The heart represents the natural essences of our maturity as we discover what we truly want out of life. During Grenouille’s maturity he discovers that he wants to embody a human scent in order to be recognized and become artificially human in society. Through his new creation of artificial life, he “grew more self-assured and cocky” (153). This shows Grenouille’s true desire to manipulate the ordinary human being’s judgment, and his purpose to rise above the meekness of humanity. Grenouille noticed his increasing strength, and it became apparent to him that he truly desired acceptance, not as human being but as a god. Baldini’s maturity results in him allowing Grenouille to make his perfumes for him, and “with the acquisition of Grenouille, the House of Giuseppe Baldini began its ascent to national, indeed European renown” (88). Baldini’s true desire was to be a great perfumer throughout all of Paris while using the ancient techniques of perfuming. At first Grenouille did not use the ancient techniques, but one taught correctly Baldini becomes satisfied with Grenouille because he became famous the way he truly
The head of a perfume is the first scent to dissipate once the perfume is released into the world. Much like a child in the emergence of their life, the head of a perfume contains the most pleasant scent as it embodies the essence of youth. The innocence of youth lasts only for a small amount of time like the head of a perfume because a human being becomes selfish in its youth to ensure survival. Grenouille begins his first day of life with a selfish act of survival because once he cried out after his birth it was his “…decision against love and nevertheless for life” (Suskind, 21). Grenouille decides to cry in the fish market in order to survive because his mother left him abandoned in the fish market. Since his mother did not attempt to love him, this caused Grenouille to choose life over love. Similar to Grenouille’s selfish act as a child, his disposable pawns offer the same level of selfishness to achieve success. Madame Gaillard, for instance, takes care of unwanted children only to receive money in order to have a private death. She lacked emotion, passion, and “showed no preference for any one of the children entrusted to her” (19). She only cared about making her money, and therefore she did not care for Grenouille. Gaillard’s selfishness led her to become a pawn in Grenouille’s game of survival because she could not offer him love, the one true …show more content…
The heart of a perfume, the second level of the dissipation process, manifests the finest natural essences of a perfume and lasts the longest through time. The heart represents the natural essences of our maturity as we discover what we truly want out of life. During Grenouille’s maturity he discovers that he wants to embody a human scent in order to be recognized and become artificially human in society. Through his new creation of artificial life, he “grew more self-assured and cocky” (153). This shows Grenouille’s true desire to manipulate the ordinary human being’s judgment, and his purpose to rise above the meekness of humanity. Grenouille noticed his increasing strength, and it became apparent to him that he truly desired acceptance, not as human being but as a god. Baldini’s maturity results in him allowing Grenouille to make his perfumes for him, and “with the acquisition of Grenouille, the House of Giuseppe Baldini began its ascent to national, indeed European renown” (88). Baldini’s true desire was to be a great perfumer throughout all of Paris while using the ancient techniques of perfuming. At first Grenouille did not use the ancient techniques, but one taught correctly Baldini becomes satisfied with Grenouille because he became famous the way he truly