Patrick Süskind's Use Of Symbolism In Perfume

Süskind sets his novel, Perfume; The Story of a Murderer, in the self-empowering period of the Enlightenment. However, his use of animalistic symbolism -especially referring his main character as a tick- as well as motifs of greed and darkness reflect the more maleficent side of humanity through the horridities human perform, and how humans seem to focus on their own desires. Patrick Süskind places his novel, Perfume, in 18th century France. During this era, the Enlightenment -a movement focused on the power and prestige of the individual- swept through Europe. However, Süskind was influenced by the Postmodernist movement of the 1980s, where literature focused on facts and experiences. This causes his novel to focus on the tangible world than the idealism of the Enlightenment. The contrast between these two movements demonstrates how Süskind wants his audience to see that humans are more malignant creatures that prefer to focus on their own desires, than they are “enlightened”. Süskind uses animalistic symbolism throughout Perfume in order to show the malignant side of humanity through the idea that humans are no more evolved than other animals. Süskind states that “the world [is] simply teeming with

Süskind describes Grenouille as such in order to show how humanity sucks the life from one another so as to serve their own purposes. He also uses a tick to show how resilient human beings are, as Süskind has Grenouille lay “dormant for years” until he “[scents] blood” and prepares to move into action once again (69). However, the bad connotation surrounding ticks seems to lend itself to the malignant nature of humans, as they can appear to be neutral or even good for a time, however they are merely waiting to strike once