History Literature / Perfume

* [[spoiler:IAmAHumanitarian: Grenouille ends up devoured by a phazed crowd after dousing himself in his perfume.]]

* FilkSong: It inspired at least five, including [[{{Nirvana}} "Scentless Apprentice"]], [[Music/{{Air}} "Red Head Girl"]] and [[{{Rammstein}} "Du riechst so gut"]].

* 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 bares more than a passing resemblance to her. The film takes it further by suggesting Grenouille has romantic feelings for the Plum Girl and that had she not died he wouldn't have had his StartOfDarkness.

* HeroesWantRedheads: Grenouille is most entranced by the scents of the Plum Girl and Laura, both redheads, though he feels no romantic interest in them. It's played straight in the book, however, as Grenouille smells "the scent of love" from the Plum Girl.
** In the film it is suggested that Grenouille may be romantically interested in the Plum Girl. He is intrigued by a kissing couple while he holds her, imagines making love to her and thinks of her at several points after her death.

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

* DoomMagnet: [[spoiler:Everyone who takes care of Grenouille dies soon after he leaves them. The only exception is Madame Gaillard - her problem is that she lives much longer than she wanted to.]]
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Grenouille realizes that he'll be Lonely At The Top, and has no other reason to live.]]

* SympathyForTheDevil: Grenouille.

* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: 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.]]

** Laura was the name of the poet Petrarch's long-time love, the archetypal beautiful and innocent lady who was both fascinating and out of reach.

* BeautyEqualsGoodness: Averted in the case of Grenouille. In the book he's a deformed, troll-like man. In the film he's got a case of HollywoodHomely. He is still as evil and as murderous as he is in the book.

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Grenouille realizes that he'll be LonelyAtTheTop, and has no other reason to live.]]

* NonIdleRich: The wealthy leaders of Grasse, lead by Antoine Richis, work to stop the serial killer.

* ParentalAbandonment: Grenouille's mother is executed for trying to kill him. We never learn anything about his father.

** Laura was the love of the poet Petrarch, the archetypal beautiful and innocent lady who was both fascinating and out of reach.

* {{Narrator}}: John Hurt provides some excellent narration in the film.

* {{Determinator}}: The narrator emphasizes Grenouille's great will to survive through a childhood that would have killed most others. In the book, he is described as a tick, enduring through the harsh childhood

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Grenouille realizes that he'll be Lonely At The Top, and has no other reason to live.]]

It was adapted into a 2006 film: ''Perfume: The Story of a Murderer'', directed by Tom Tykwer, most known for his film ''Film/RunLolaRun''. The film stars Ben Whishaw as Grenouille; DustinHoffman 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.

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 think that]] they're in heaven. Of course, Grenouille has to keep this noble artistic vision a secret from society, as extracting a girl's scent requires killing her.

It was adapted into a 2006 film: ''Perfume: The Story of a Murderer'', directed by Tom Tykwer, most known for his film ''Film/RunLolaRun''. The film stars Ben Whishaw as Grenouille, DustinHoffman 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.

A 1985 [[LitFic 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 smell, but, curiously, he himself has no body odour.

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 virginal girls, a [[{{Glamour}} fragrance so beautiful]] that [[LoveIsInTheAir all who smell it]] will [[MoreThanMindControl think that]] they're in heaven. Of course, Grenouille has to keep this noble artistic vision a secret from society, as extracting a girl's scent requires killing her.

* BeautyEqualsGoodness: 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 HollywoodHomely.

* MagicRealism: Grenouille's sense of smell, the fact that he has no body odour of his own, the lethal misfortunes of all his former keepers, and the effects of his perfume all breach the confines of either possibilty or probability.

* TheDungAges: 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. On the other hand, the countryside and wealthy parts of France are [[SceneryPorn quite gorgeous]].
** TruthInTelevision: Parisians were banned from expanding outside the city walls, and the filth, pollution and overcrowding were a major contributor to the French Revolution.

It was adapted into a 2006 film: ''Perfume: The Story of a Murderer'', directed by Tom Tykwer, most known for his film ''RunLolaRun''. The film stars Ben Whishaw as Grenouille, DustinHoffman 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.

* [[spoiler:TheBadGuyWins:]] [[spoiler:Grenouille kills Laura, creates his perfume, and escapes execution. However, he finds that his perfume doesn't grant him happiness.]]

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Grenouille realizes that he'll be LonelyAtTheTop, and has no other reason to live.]]

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Perfume_Poster1_9407.jpg

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 virginal girls, a [[{{Glamour}} fragrance so beautiful]] that [[LoveIsInTheAir all who smell it]] will [[MoreThanMindControl think that]] they're in heaven. Of course, Grenouille has to keep this noble artistic vision a secret from society, as extracting a girl's scent requires killing her in the process.

Perfume ("Das Parfum") by Patrick Süßkind is a novel set in France about a boy born in the worst malodour imaginable. It is later revealed that he has an extraordinary sense of smell but, curiously, he himself has no body odour.
Straight forward enough he becomes a perfumer and learns the various methods to extract the smell from different things. It is then, when he decides to make the most perfect perfume ever created by using the incredibly enticing smell of young women...

See also: ''{{Perfume}}''

!!This novel contains examples of:

* EvilSmellsBad: averted
* SuperSenses: the protagonist can consciously smell the tiniest differences in a perfume mixture
* TheNoseKnows
* VillainProtagonist