Jean-Baptiste Grenouille
Encyclopedia
Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is the protagonist from Patrick Süskind
's novel Perfume, published in 1985. Grenouille is born with an extreme form of hyperosmia
(an abnormally strong sense of smell), which eventually leads to him becoming a serial killer
.
version of "John the Baptist
." His mother, who worked at the fish market, didn't bother to name him and was executed soon after his birth. Since only baptized
children were accepted into orphanages, an officer called La Fosse decided to let him be christened at the Saint-Merri cloister. 'Grenouille' means 'frog' in French. Frogs are cold-blooded, which Grenouille is also said to have been in the book. Frogs hibernate and survive on what they've stored within themselves, which hints at Grenouille's 'living' on his olfactory memories during his 7 years in a cave. This name may have many relations to the plot, such as the way in which Grenouille 'leaps' from person to person on his journey to create the perfect perfume.
, on July 17, 1738. His mother, who would have let him die, is hanged
shortly after Grenouille's birth. Even though he has a phenomenal sense of smell, he has no odour of his own, which repels every wet nurse in the cloister. He is eventually brought to Madame Gaillard's orphanage and sold to Monsieur Grimal's tannery
at 8 years old. In September 1753, Grenouille becomes enchanted by the scent of a redheaded girl from the Rue de Marais, who is peeling plums. Grenouille at once strangles the girl and smells as much of her as he can, as soon as she is dead. From then on, he dedicates his life to preserving the girl's scent. He becomes apprenticed to Giuseppe Baldini, a renowned Italian
perfumer, and quickly masters distillation
, creating hundreds of new perfumes. At the age of 18, Jean-Baptiste leaves for Grasse
to learn enfleurage
, since it is impossible to distill the scent of a human being. Baldini agrees to give Grenouille traveling papers if Grenouille agrees to leave him at least 100 new formulas and promises never to return to Paris.
, he settles in a cave where he stays for seven years, living in an imaginary purple castle in his head. In his fantasies, the scents he has smelled throughout his life are drinks, standing around him in bottles. Throughout these seven years, he emerges from the cave only at night. He finds he lacks for nothing in the cave, and may have stayed there permanently if not for the occurrence of a 'catastrophe.' In the cave, Grenouille discovers he has no smell of his own. This discovery moves Grenouille to continue to Grasse.
Süskind refers to what happens on the day of the execution as a 'Promethean
act.' Laure's scent inspires so much love that it causes the 10,000 people in the crowd to enact an orgy
, and to consider Grenouille the most amazing person they have ever seen. Grenouille, however, only feels hatred for them. When even Antoine Richis comes to Grenouille begging for forgiveness, Grenouille faints. When he wakes up again, he is in Laure's bed while Antoine holds his hand and asks him to be his son. All Grenouille wants to do, however, is return to Paris and die.
and starring Ben Whishaw
as Grenouille. Film producer Bernd Eichinger
stated that Whishaw "embodied both the innocent and the murderer."
The film suggests that Grenouille has feelings, more so than his portrayal in the novel. In the book, Grenouille is completely aware of what he is doing when he strangles the girl with the plums; he shows no remorse, thinking only of capturing her scent. In the film, the girl (Karoline Herfurth
) has already met Grenouille in town, when he scares her by sniffing her hand. When she notices him standing behind her later on, she screams and he puts her hand to her mouth to stop her from doing so. He appears to be surprised when he notices she's dead. He even stands there looking sorry for a while. During the orgy in the film, he thinks back of the girl and daydreams about kissing her, which causes him to cry.
There are also differences in Grenouille's age. In the book Grenouille is 15 when he strangles the plum girl and starts to work for Baldini, 18 when he leaves Paris and 25 when he leaves his cave. In the film he is already in his early 20s when he strangles his first victim, and he doesn't spend as much time in the cave.
Patrick Süskind
Patrick Süskind is a German writer and screenwriter.- Life and work :The public knows little about Patrick Süskind. He has withdrawn from the literary scene in Germany and never grants interviews or allows photos. He was born in Ambach am Starnberger See, near Munich in Germany...
's novel Perfume, published in 1985. Grenouille is born with an extreme form of hyperosmia
Hyperosmia
Hyperosmia is an increased ability to smell - for example, being able to identify the perfume of the previous occupant of a chair. It is seen in patients with cluster headaches, migraines, and adrenal cortical insufficiency , although some people possess it naturally...
(an abnormally strong sense of smell), which eventually leads to him becoming a serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
.
Etymology of the name
"Jean-Baptiste" is the FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
version of "John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
." His mother, who worked at the fish market, didn't bother to name him and was executed soon after his birth. Since only baptized
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
children were accepted into orphanages, an officer called La Fosse decided to let him be christened at the Saint-Merri cloister. 'Grenouille' means 'frog' in French. Frogs are cold-blooded, which Grenouille is also said to have been in the book. Frogs hibernate and survive on what they've stored within themselves, which hints at Grenouille's 'living' on his olfactory memories during his 7 years in a cave. This name may have many relations to the plot, such as the way in which Grenouille 'leaps' from person to person on his journey to create the perfect perfume.
Part one
Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born in the fish market in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, on July 17, 1738. His mother, who would have let him die, is hanged
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
shortly after Grenouille's birth. Even though he has a phenomenal sense of smell, he has no odour of his own, which repels every wet nurse in the cloister. He is eventually brought to Madame Gaillard's orphanage and sold to Monsieur Grimal's tannery
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
at 8 years old. In September 1753, Grenouille becomes enchanted by the scent of a redheaded girl from the Rue de Marais, who is peeling plums. Grenouille at once strangles the girl and smells as much of her as he can, as soon as she is dead. From then on, he dedicates his life to preserving the girl's scent. He becomes apprenticed to Giuseppe Baldini, a renowned Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
perfumer, and quickly masters distillation
Distillation
Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....
, creating hundreds of new perfumes. At the age of 18, Jean-Baptiste leaves for Grasse
Grasse
-See also:*Route Napoléon*Ancient Diocese of Grasse*Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department-External links:*...
to learn enfleurage
Enfleurage
Enfleurage is a process that uses odorless fats that are solid at room temperature to capture the fragrant compounds exuded by plants. The process can be "cold" enfleurage or "hot" enfleurage.- Process :...
, since it is impossible to distill the scent of a human being. Baldini agrees to give Grenouille traveling papers if Grenouille agrees to leave him at least 100 new formulas and promises never to return to Paris.
Part two
Grenouille travels by night, through the mountains, to get to Grasse. He avoids other people as much as he can. In AuvergneAuvergne (province)
Auvergne was a historic province in south central France. It was originally the feudal domain of the Counts of Auvergne. It is now the geographical and cultural area that corresponds to the former province....
, he settles in a cave where he stays for seven years, living in an imaginary purple castle in his head. In his fantasies, the scents he has smelled throughout his life are drinks, standing around him in bottles. Throughout these seven years, he emerges from the cave only at night. He finds he lacks for nothing in the cave, and may have stayed there permanently if not for the occurrence of a 'catastrophe.' In the cave, Grenouille discovers he has no smell of his own. This discovery moves Grenouille to continue to Grasse.
Part three
After leaving his cave, Grenouille spends a short amount of time with the Marquis de la Taillade-Espinasse and then ends up working for Madame Arnulfi in Grasse, where he learns the method of enfleurage. Grenouille also discovers another red-headed girl named Laure Richis, an exquisitely beautiful girl whose scent is even better than that of the girl from the Rue de Marais. When he first notices her, she is still very young (about 14) and Grenouille wants to wait 2 years before trying to capture her scent. However, the only way to capture a living being's scent is by killing that being. Before Laure, Grenouille kills 24 other beautiful young girls for their scent. He cuts their hair and takes their clothes with him. His lack of scent becomes a great asset to him, as he is never caught. When another murderer is caught in Grenoble, everyone in Grasse believes the murder spree is over except for Antoine Richis, Laure's father. Antoine then figures out the murderer's way of thinking and decides to flee, intending to marry his daughter off. The first night of their journey is spent in La Napoule, but Grenouille tracks them down and murders Laure. Even though he leaves before anyone else wakes up, he is arrested shortly after Laure's murder and the court decides to execute him. But by that time, he has already made a perfume out of Laure's hair and clothes.Süskind refers to what happens on the day of the execution as a 'Promethean
Prometheus
In Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan, the son of Iapetus and Themis, and brother to Atlas, Epimetheus and Menoetius. He was a champion of mankind, known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals...
act.' Laure's scent inspires so much love that it causes the 10,000 people in the crowd to enact an orgy
Orgy
In modern usage, an orgy is a sex party where guests engage in promiscuous or multifarious sexual activity or group sex. An orgy is similar to debauchery, which refers to excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures....
, and to consider Grenouille the most amazing person they have ever seen. Grenouille, however, only feels hatred for them. When even Antoine Richis comes to Grenouille begging for forgiveness, Grenouille faints. When he wakes up again, he is in Laure's bed while Antoine holds his hand and asks him to be his son. All Grenouille wants to do, however, is return to Paris and die.
Part four
Grenouille now knows that he can never love like others, nor can he smell himself, but he has the power to do whatever he wants: 'the invincible power to command the love of mankind.' When he returns to the fish market where he was born, he tips the flask over his head. The criminals prowling around the market see him as an angel, and eat him. When they are done, it feels as though they had 'for the first time in their life, done something purely out of love.'Physical appearance
As a baby, Grenouille is said to have dull eyes, 'of an uncertain colour, between oyster grey and creamy opal white' and 'not very well adapted for sight.' When he lives with Madame Gaillard, he is described as ugly, but not so ugly that he scares other people. When Grenouille has lived in his cave for seven years, his hair has grown to his knees and his beard has grown to his navel, and the first people he meets run away screaming. The Marquis de la Taillade-Espinasse gives Grenouille new clothes, powders his face, and has his nails and hair cut. He tells Grenouille that he was a beast but the Marquis has turned him into a person. Here it is revealed how completely normal he looks, although a bit on the short side. Because he has no body odour of his own, Grenouille is usually unnoticed.Personality
Throughout the book, Grenouille is called a solitary tick. His lack of scent scares other people, even if they don't directly realize it. He travels at night to avoid other people as much as possible. He is also narcissistic, wanting to be better than everyone else by giving himself a better smell. Grenouille feels no remorse whatsoever for his murders, but he does not murder for the thrill of it; he kills his victims because he needs their scents and can only capture them by killing. On the night he murders Laure Richis, Grenouille is so satisfied with himself that he thanks himself for being the way he is. At the orgy, Grenouille feels only contempt for all the other people, even though they adore him. The perfume cannot make him love other people, and his scentlessness stops other people from loving him. His perfume gives him all the power in the world, but it cannot help him smell himself or know himself, and he comes to believe his life is pointless.Film
In 2006, the novel was adapted into a film of the same name, directed by Tom TykwerTom Tykwer
Tom Tykwer is a German film director, screenwriter, and composer. He is best known internationally for directing Run Lola Run , Heaven , Perfume: The Story of a Murderer , and The International ....
and starring Ben Whishaw
Ben Whishaw
Benjamin John "Ben" Whishaw is an English actor who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Whishaw is perhaps best known for his breakthrough role as Hamlet, and his role as the lead character in Tom Tykwer's film Perfume: The Story of a Murderer.-Early life:Whishaw was born and raised in...
as Grenouille. Film producer Bernd Eichinger
Bernd Eichinger
Bernd Eichinger was a German film producer and director.- Life and career :Eichinger was born in Neuburg an der Donau. He attended the University of Television and Film Munich in the 1970s, and bought a stake in the fledgling studio company Neue Constantin Film in 1979, becoming its executive...
stated that Whishaw "embodied both the innocent and the murderer."
The film suggests that Grenouille has feelings, more so than his portrayal in the novel. In the book, Grenouille is completely aware of what he is doing when he strangles the girl with the plums; he shows no remorse, thinking only of capturing her scent. In the film, the girl (Karoline Herfurth
Karoline Herfurth
-Life and career:She is probably most well known to English-speaking audiences for her appearances in the Academy Award Best Picture-nominee The Reader and in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, the 2006 film adaptation of Patrick Suskind's best-selling novel Das Parfum. The feature was directed by...
) has already met Grenouille in town, when he scares her by sniffing her hand. When she notices him standing behind her later on, she screams and he puts her hand to her mouth to stop her from doing so. He appears to be surprised when he notices she's dead. He even stands there looking sorry for a while. During the orgy in the film, he thinks back of the girl and daydreams about kissing her, which causes him to cry.
There are also differences in Grenouille's age. In the book Grenouille is 15 when he strangles the plum girl and starts to work for Baldini, 18 when he leaves Paris and 25 when he leaves his cave. In the film he is already in his early 20s when he strangles his first victim, and he doesn't spend as much time in the cave.