History Literature / Perfume

* HeroesWantRedheads: Grenouille is most entranced by the scents of the Plum Girl and Laura, both redheads.

* EnfantTerrible: Grenouille in his youth. The narrator mentions his cry as a baby was not to survive but to have her mom executed, though Grenouille did it unconsciously.

* EnfantTerrible: Grenouille in his youth.

* OverprotectiveDad: Antoine Richis, justified in that there is a murderer at large.

* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: In the book, Grenouille kills various animals while trying to perfect the art of capturing a living being's scent. In one case, he steals a litter of puppies from a mother dog, extracts their scent, and considers the experiment a success when the dog is fooled into thinking they're near.

* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: In the book, Grenouille kills various animals while trying to perfect the art of capturing a living being's scent.

* FirstGirlWins: The Plum Girl, the first victim, is the one that makes the most lasting impression on Grenouille and is what starts him on his quest. The only other girl to make much of an impression is Laura, who bears more than a passing resemblance to her.

* NonIdleRich: The wealthy officials of Grasse, lead by Antoine Richis, work uselessly to put a stop to the serial killer.

* {{Retirony}}: Inverted with Baldini, who is about to cut his losses and retire before discovering Grenouille's abilities. As a result he keeps working for the rest of his much-shortened life.

* ShootTheShaggyDog: Grenouille was born as an emotionless misanthrope and spends his years wandering the country to find the perfect scent and complete his life's work. Everyone he comes in contact with has a habit of dying in short order, as if his very presence is toxic. He murders several girls to extract their scent, [[spoiler:but when he completes his mission he realizes not even ruling the world will make him happy and he returns to the place he was born to commit suicide. Ultimately all the destruction and misery he caused was pointless even to Grenouille and his inconsequential existence is summarily forgotten. Even his beautiful, popular non-murderous perfume formulas are lost when Baldini's ''entire house'' falls into the Seine.]]

It was adapted into a 2006 film: ''Perfume: The Story of a Murderer'', directed by Creator/TomTykwer, most known for his film ''Film/RunLolaRun''. The film stars Creator/BenWhishaw as Grenouille; Creator/DustinHoffman as Baldini, the perfumer who teaches him the basics of the trade; Rachel Hurd-Wood as Laura Richis, an imperilled young lady in Grenouille's sights; and Creator/AlanRickman as Antoine Richis, Laura's protective father. The film was a flop in America, but was actually a pretty big hit worldwide, and a certified blockbuster in Germany.

Fittingly enough he becomes a perfumer, eagerly learning various methods to extract the smell from all kinds of things. It is then when he decides to create the most perfect perfume ever by capturing the scents of beautiful virgin girls, a [[{{Glamour}} fragrance so intoxicating]] that [[LoveIsInTheAir all who smell it]] will [[MoreThanMindControl feel like]] they've gone to heaven. Of course, Grenouille has to keep this noble artistic vision a secret from society, as extracting a girl's scent requires killing her. (Clearly this story would have been much tamer if it were set in an era where tranquilisers were easily accessed.)

Fittingly enough he becomes a perfumer, eagerly learning various methods to extract the smell from all kinds of things. It is then when he decides to create the most perfect perfume ever by capturing the scents of beautiful virgin girls, a [[{{Glamour}} fragrance so intoxicating]] that [[LoveIsInTheAir all who smell it]] will [[MoreThanMindControl feel like]] they've gone to heaven. Of course, Grenouille has to keep this noble artistic vision a secret from society, as extracting a girl's scent requires killing her. (Clearly this story would have been much tamer if it were told in an era where tranquilisers were easily accessed.)