The main character of the book is written about as if the author despises him and perhaps rightly so. However, Grenouille is so fascinating that the reader cannot help but be drawn to him.
Apart from his incredible sense of smell he has an uncanny ability to survive. Against all odds, Grenouille lives. The source of this life seems to come from pure will for when he experiences failure and loses hope, his life also starts to dwindle. This suggests that Grenouille is hardly a human being, but merely infallible will encased in the husk of one.
He rejects the human world, only using it to help him progress with his goals, and at one point fully withdraws into himself. He has no need for company as the only love he has is for himself and no other. He has no need for a god to worship because he is god enough on his own. This extreme vanity makes him both more despicable and more interesting.
In addition, everyone Grenouille makes contact with seems to end in one horrible way or another. If he was never alive, these people may just have survived for longer or else died happily. His unconcern with others does not reduce his effect on them.
The reader is led to view Grenouille as a sort of mythical creature with the power of immortality and incredible sense of smell with a complete apathy for all of humanity.
5 comments:
I really liked how you pointed out the fact that everyone he meets seems to end or is affected by him in a horrible way. This is even portrayed from the very beginning when one of the first people that come in his life, the wet nurse, even says that "He's possessed by the devil."
i agree. Grenouille is very full of himself but the interesting thing is that people usually are vain or arrogant because they want others to notice them. Grenouille on the other hand doesn't even want to have anything to do with people because he despises them for their stench. He puts himself higher than the rest, including God. He clearly shows that he doesn't need anyone and would much rather live in a world of solitude. He never shows any emotions to do with loving or caring for a person but instead just hate and disgust.
i agree too, Grenouille has a very strange mind attitude towards life and how to interact with other human beens and the fact that it took him much longer than others to be able to walk or talk, My question to you Julia is.. Do you think that he acts like this because other humans found him werid and didnt give him the chance to learn off them as a child, and does that some how come back to him in the future when he can kill women and not seem to care? its just.. easy. And how would all this link to the ending? if there is a link..?
cheers people.
I think that Grenouille only learns to walk and speak late because these actions were less useful to him. He seems to do what he wants and needs, only conforming to the behaviours of society when it suits him best. However,there does appear to be some insecurity in him about how people feel because of the thrill he gets when they start to notice him once he has an odour. I don't think he ever cares about others because they aren't really even the same order of being as him. Thanks guys for the comments :) I like discussing this strange man.
I think he experiences that thrill of being noticed only because its a completely new feeling for him, since he's never really been noticed by anyone before unless he makes some sort of contact with them.
Post a Comment