The Decadent Scent: Patrick Süskind's Perfume as a Critique of Enlightenment Science

Maestas, Maggie

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

The Decadent Scent: Patrick Süskind's Perfume as a Critique of Enlightenment Science Public Deposited

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Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/undergraduate_honors_theses/fn1070622

Abstract

When the purpose of scientific inquiry blurs into a pure objective investigation of nature’s boundaries, the results overshadow ethical concerns. The Enlightenment’s fundamental basis of ceaseless campaigns for scientific achievement, excellence, and understanding evolved in later years, breaching ethical codes of humanity—namely, in the Nazi Regime. The lasting effects of World War II persist in German literature, prompting reflection on the original influences of the Third Reich’s ideology. In the 1985 historical fantasy novel, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, Patrick Süskind ultimately criticizes the unethical and hubristic principles of Enlightenment science to reveal its harmful and enduring influence. To achieve this purpose, Süskind uses Decadence, a literary movement from the late-nineteenth century, in a postmodern pastiche of earlier literary styles because its narrative structure and obsessive protagonists share similarities with Enlightenment ideals and scientists. Vivid olfactory descriptions permeate the novel, which tells the story of a man born with an exceptional sense of smell who kills young women to extract their intoxicating scent in his attempt to create the perfect perfume. The olfactory focus in Perfume emphasizes the arrogance of Enlightenment scientists—and Decadent protagonists— in their pursuit of scientific and artistic achievement. The combination of Decadence and olfactory imagery facilitate Süskind’s critique of Enlightenment science and its harmful influence and application hundreds of years later.

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