History Literature / Perfume

* {{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 harshness.
* DevouredByTheHorde: At the very end, [[spoiler: Grenouille, saddened that his perfect perfume cannot create love, uses it to kill himself. As he approaches a group of beggars, he dumps all of the remaining perfume on himself. The beggars are so enchanted by his smell that they swarm him and rip him to pieces.]]

* ColdBloodedTorture: After Grenouille is captured, he's suspended upside down and his head is dipped into water for periods of time. He is also sentenced to be publicly tortured before execution.

* EvilDetectingDog: Averted in the movie; thanks to Grenouille lack of scent, he steps right over a sleeping dog as he's sneaking up to Laura's bedroom, without the dog sounding the alarm.

* OrphanageOfFear: Grenouille is raised in one of these. In the film, conditions are so bad that the other orphans try to kill him as a newborn to save room. In the book, the ''other'' kids are afraid of ''him'' due to his unnatural lack of smell. They still wish to kill him, but since none of them are actually brave enough to tough him, their attempts to smother him while he sleeps fail.

* UncannyValley:In-Universe. Grenouile not having a scent is implied to be why people hate him and the reason behind his bullying at the orphanage. It's just subconsciously odd.

* SmellsSexy: Arguably the TropeCodifier. A single drop of Grenouille's perfume throwis the crowd gathered to watch his execution into a lusty orgy. Later, using the whole bottle at once causes him to be torn limb from limb and devoured by beggars.

* VillainousAromanticAsexual: Grenouille has no interest in sex, at least not as we know it. He gains all his pleasures from scents. In the film he seems to have some attraction to the Plum Girl (and, by association, [[ReplacementGoldfish Laura]]) but that could also be scent based.

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 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.

* UncannyValley: Grenouile not having a scent is implied to be why people hate him and the reason behind his bullying at the orphanage. It's just subconsciously odd.

* DoomMagnet: [[spoiler:Nearly everyone who takes in Grenouille dies soon after he leaves them. An exception is Madame Gaillard (in the book) - her problem is that she lives much longer than she wanted to.]]

* DoomMagnet: [[spoiler:Everyone who takes care of Grenouille dies soon after he leaves them. The only exception is Madame Gaillard (in the book) - her problem is that she lives much longer than she wanted to.]]

* DisposableSexWorker: In the book, Grenouille tries to distill the scent of animals, but they are all too afraid as he handles them; only when he entices a puppy with a piece of meat, then kills it while it's still distracted, can he apply animal fat and create a perfume so convincing that the puppy's mother won't keep her nose out of the bottle it's kept in. In the film, rather than subject the audience to the horror of killing a puppy, Grenouille is instead shown murdering a weirded-out prostitute and using the resultant perfume to fool her abandoned (anachronistic) shi tzu.

* DropDeadGorgeous: Grenouille dumps the naked bodies of his young, beautiful victims haphazardly throughout the city. Also present in the film poster on this page. After watching the film, it becomes more clear that the woman pictured is dead.

* 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.]]

%%* LoveIsInTheAir.

* {{Asexuality}}: Grenouille has no interest in sex, at least not as we know it. He gains all his pleasures from scents. In the film he seems to have some attraction to the Plum Girl (and, by association, [[ReplacementGoldfish Laura]]) but that could also be scent based.

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

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

* LoveIsInTheAir.

* ShoutOut: The song "Scentless Apprentice" by Music/{{Nirvana}} from ''Music/InUtero'' was inspired by his novel. Music/KurtCobain liked it so much that he thanked the author in the liner notes.

* TortureAlwaysWorks: At least two other people are tortured into confessing to Grenouille's crimes.

* ReplacementLoveInterest: By the end it becomes apparent that Grenouille probably only went after Laura because of her resemblance to the Plum Girl, who he was originally obsessed with.

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 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 Actor/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.

* IJustWantTobeLoved: [[spoiler:While standing amidst the mass orgy he's created with the perfume, Grenouille suddenly thinks back to the Plum Girl and imagines being intimate with her, indicating that feeling love was what he had wanted all along. This ultimately pushes him over the DespairEventHorizon.]]

* AccidentalMurder: Grenouille covers the Plum Girl's mouth with his hands to quiet her only to find he ended up strangling her to death.

* MummiesAtTheDinnerTable: After killing the Plum Girl, Grenouille strips her naked and smells her until her scent fades. One or two of his victims are found in the places they dwelled while alive; a rich girl is draped over her settee, a nun at the floor of the chapel.