Perfume

1. Perfume Page 44 – 45

2. Key themes • Grenouille seeks meaning in life • Distancing himself from the human race • Lack of connection to human desires and emotions • Olfactory perception and imagery • Irony that Grenouille does not sexually desire the girl

3. Literary techniques • ‘… these components yielded a perfume so rich, so balanced, so magical’ • Hyperbole shows literally what he can distinguish • List of three intensifies the smell • ‘every perfume’, ‘every edifice of odors’ • Superlative shows how this smell is utterly incomparable to his vast collection • ‘Grenouille knew… that unless he possessed this scent, his life would have no meaning.’ • Possessed implies he must physically capture it • The quest of the book is revealed

4. Literary techniques • ‘He wanted to press, to imprint his apotheosis of scent onto his black, muddled soul…’ • Black, muddled soul suggests his disconnection with other people • Apotheosis suggests element of divinity, of transcendence from the human race • ‘to think, to live, to smell only according to the innermost structures of its magic formula.’ • List of three shows the smell has grabbed his entire life, he now has a purpose in life to learn to obtain smells

5. Literary techniques • ‘He slowly approached the girl, closer and closer… She did not hear him.’ • Suspense created through juxtaposing narrative action and reflection • ‘She had red hair… Her arms were very white and her hands yellow with the juice of the halved plums.’ • Descriptive imagery reflects his yearning for her scent • White connotes purity and innocence • Red makes her special and reflects his desire for her scent and its source, which could be blood

6. Literary techniques • ‘Grenouille… sucked in the undiluted fragrance of her as it rose from her nape, her hair, from the neckline of her dress. He let it flow into him like a gentle breeze.’ • Sucked in emphasizes his parasitical nature and his greediness • List of three, visual imagery has sexual connotations but it is ironic since Grenouille has no such intention • Simile suggests sedation, he is only at peace with the full force of the scent

7. Literary techniques • ‘She felt as if a cold draught had risen up behind her, as if someone had opened a door to a vast, cold cellar.’ • Cold draught signifies Grenouille’s distance to humanity, he lacks empathy and is heartless • The cold cellar suggests the girl is being enveloped by Grenouille’s apathetic personality, and also implies seclusion, or being locked away from the world • The girl’s fear is in juxtaposition with Grenouille’s euphoria

8. Literary techniques • ‘He… did not see her delicate, freckled face, her red lips… keeping his eyes closed tight as he strangled her…’ • Freckled face and red lips imply her youth and a sensual atmosphere, none of which Grenouille is concerned with • A matter of fact statement devoid of emotive language, showing Grenouille’s detachment to society