HUM 100 Perfume Week One Spring 2021 PDF

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HUM$100$ Perfume$Lesson$One$ Spring$2021$ $ Reading$Assignment:$ Suskind:!Perfume,!up!to!chapter!15! ! Introduction:$ This!book!is!quite!the!change!from!Foucault,!but!I!hope!you!are!starting!to!see!some!of!the! connections!that!compelled!me!to!put!this!alongside!our!other!readings!(I!think!the!connection!to! Dracula!will!become!even!more!explicit!as!we!continue!reading).!Indeed,!I!hope!you’re!enjoying! Patrick!Süskind’s!Perfume;!it’s!the!most!recently-written!text!we!are!reading!in!this!class,!written!in! 1983,!even!though+our!little!“vampire!novel”!is!set!in!the!18th!century,!just!a!few!decades!before!the! French!Revolution!and!during!the!height!of!the!Enlightenment.! ! It’s!hard!for!me!to!pin!down!what!kind!of!novel!this!really!is.!Perfume,!on!the!one!hand,!is!an! example!of+one!of!those!books!that!is!simultaneously!a!guilty!pleasure!–!in!the!sense!that!it’s!a! detective!story!(or!a!murder!mystery)!which!turns!on!a!sensationalist!series!of!murders;!yet,!at!the! same!time,!readers!can!appreciate!the!literary!and!historical!allusions!of!the!text!(and!perhaps! connect!the!text!to!broader!theoretical!issues!like!the!ones!that!are!brought!up!by!Foucault).! ! These!two!alone!would!give!us!much!to!discuss,!but!in!between!these!two!there!is!so!much!more! going!on!in!the!text!that!we!will!feel!compelled!to!examine.! ! For!instance,!there’s!plenty!that!can!be!said!about:! ! --the!detailed!evocation!of!eighteenth-century!Paris!at!the!opening!of!the!book;!! --the!perfume!motif!(and!this!could!be!analyzed!just!as!we!would!examine,!say,!fashion,!or! other!aspects!of!private!and!social!life!represented!in!literary!texts);! --the!macabre,!perversity,!and!quite!simply!the!violence!of!the!period!and!the!character!who! represents!this!violence;! --the!language!of!the!text!and!the!relationship!between!language!and!scent,!language!and!the! senses.! Part!of!the!attraction!of!reading!Perfume+is!weaving!and!wavering!among!these!different! interpretive!possibilities.!There!is!simply!so!much!to!do!with!this!text!and!it!is!like!this!because!of! its!own!playfulness.!Having!said!this,!it!is!not!possible!to!examine!all!these!aspects!in!the!limited! time!that!we!have!in!a!course!like!this!so!let!me!emphasize!how!important!it!is!for!you!to!analyze! the!text!uniquely,!originally!in!the!discussion!forums!and!later!in!your!micro-essays.!! $ Presently,!try!to!recall!(which!I!will!go!back!and!quote)!the!first!few!paragraphs!of!the!novel.! Süskind’s!command!of!language!and!his!ability!to!use!words!to!describe!the!most!elusive!of!our! senses!–!scent!–!make!him!one!of!my!favorite!writers.!And!even!in!translation,!I!would!argue,!the! essence!of!his!ideas!is!captured!so!well.!! ! In!the!opening!description,!the!sardonic!narrator!is!immersing!us!into!the!stench!that!was!18thcentury!Paris!so!deeply! –!he’s!basically!sticking!our!nose!in!it,!that!the!stench!causes!your!eyes!to! water.!So,!how!do!we!read!this!opening?!Is!it!merely!a!German!writer’s!joke!–!or!metaphor!–!for!the! !

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need!for!the!French!to!rely!on!perfume!so!much?!Or!is!there!something!of!more!literary,!historical,! or!philosophical!import!emerging!from!this!initial!description?!Take!this!passage!for!example:! ! In!the!period!of!which!we!speak,!there!reigned!in!the!cities!a!stench!barely!conceivable!to!us! modern!men!and!women.!The!streets!stank!of!manure,!the!courtyards!of!urine,!the!stairwells! stank!of!moldering!wood!and!rat!droppings,!the!kitchens!of!spoiled!cabbage!and!mutton!fat;! the!unaired!parlors!stank!of!stale!dust,!the!bedrooms!of!greasy!sheets,!damp!featherbeds,! and!the!pungently!sweet!aroma!of!chamber!pots.!The!stench!of!sulfur!rose!from!the! chimneys,!the!stench!of!caustic!lyes!from!the!tanneries,!and!from!the!slaughterhouses!came! the!stench!of!congealed!blood.!People!stank!of!sweat!and!unwashed!clothes;!from!their! mouths!came!the!stench!of!rotting!teeth,!from!their!bellies!that!of!onions,!and!from!their! bodies,!if!they!were!no!longer!very!young,!came!the!stench!of!rancid!cheese!and!sour!milk! and!tumorous!disease.!The!rivers!stank,!the!marketplaces!stank,!the!churches!stank,!it!stank! beneath!the!bridges!and!in!the!palaces.!The!peasant!stank!as!did!the!priest,!the!apprentice!as! did!his!master’s!wife,!the!whole!of!the!aristocracy!stank,!even!the!king!himself!stank,!stank! like!a!rank!lion,!and!the!queen!like!an!old!goat,!summer!and!winter.!For!in!the!eighteenth! century!there!was!nothing!to!hinder!bacteria!busy!at!decomposition,!and!so!there!was!no! human!activity,!either!constructive!or!destructive,!no!manifestation!of!germinating!or! decaying!life!that!was!not!accompanied!by!stench.!(Chapter!One)!

! One!way!to!read!the!opening!is!to!see!it!as!a!complete!imitation!of!historical!narrative.!Of!course,! the!tone!is!sardonic,!but!this!mimicry,!this!imitation!of!the!historical!voice,!serves!not!merely!to! promote!intellectual!stimulation!but!also!to!establish!from!the!outset!the!social!and!historical!thrust! of!the!novel.!So,!the!first!thing!the!text!does!is!locate!the!novel!in!the!genre!of!historical!fiction;!in!so! doing!these!paragraphs!outline!the!position!the!text!takes!in!relation!to!the!historical!narrative!it! relates.!! ! Let!me!explain:!the!opening!passage!indicates!that!during!the!historical!period!in!question!–!the!Age! of!Enlightenment!–!genius!is!interwoven!with!wickedness,!and!to!take!this!a!step!further,!this! suggests!that!history,!including!Grenouille’s,!is!the!history!of!“gifted!and!abominable!personages”! (as!we!read!on!the!first!line!of!the!text).!! ! So,!what!we!are!reading!is!a!text!that!shows!us!the!other!side!of!Enlightenment!(in!a!way!that!is!not! so!different!from!how!Voltaire!did!this!in!Candide).!Anyhow,!the!narrator!acknowledges!the! marginality!of!the!story!he!recounts!but!at!the!same!time!insists!that!Grenouille!is!representative!of! the!Age!of!Enlightenment,!even!though!the!character’s!sensory!specialty!lies!outside!the!domain!of! sight!–!the!sense!that!is!privileged!during!Enlightenment.!! $ $ What$is$Enlightenment?$ $ The!enlightenment!was!a!time!where!people!took!the!ideas!and!the!methods!of!the!Scientific! Revolution!and!tried!to!see!if!there!was!a!way!they!could!discover!the!natural!laws!that!not!only! govern!the!universe,!but!which!govern!human!society.! $ In!other!words,!if!you!take!away!the!old!accepted!authorities!like!Copernicus,!and!Newton,!and! Galileo!did!and!you!discount!the!old!wisdom!and!you!start!looking!at!things!through!a!new!lens! questioning!even!the!basic!presumptions!of!an!idea!(like!the!old!idea!that!the!universe!revolved! around!the!earth)!then!maybe!you!can!come!to!a!better!understanding!of!it.!So,!applying!this!to! human!societies!meant!asking!the!question!of!why!are!things!the!way!they!are?!! $ $ !

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In!the!Enlightenment,!a!lot!of!thinkers!tried!to!find!the!solution!to!a!lot!of!man’s!problems.!! !

$ $ Their!goal,!ultimately!was!to!rely!on!human!reason,!rationalism,!the!ability!of!the!mind!to!think! through!problems!in!order!to!try!to!create!a!better!society!for!everybody,!to!try!to!minimize!human! suffering!as!much!as!possible!and!make!the!world,!or!at!least!Europe!as!good!as!it!could!possibly!be! for!Europeans.! $ So$what$issues$did$the$Enlightenment$address?$ $ • Political!Representation! • The!ideals!of!the!natural!rights!of!man! • The!ideals!of!how!to!find!a!ruler! • And!what!the!limits!on!those!rulers!should!be! • The!ideals!of!what!religion!is!…!what!should!be!tolerated!in!terms!of!religion.!! ! One!major!example!of!this!is!the!encyclopedia!that!is!edited!by!Denis!Diderot.!Diderot!goes!out!and! he!says!let’s!put!out!an!encyclopedia!that!has!all!of!human!knowledge!in!it!with!illustrations!and! let’s!make!it!so!people!can!understand!it.!! !

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Diderot!is!not!some!big!philosopher!but!he’s!pulling!all!this!knowledge!together!with!the! assumption!that!if!people!have!access!to!this!information—free!access!to!this!information!then!you! have!the!ability!to!question!things!that!are!going!on!…!why!are!there!absolute!monarchs?!That+ doesn’t+make+rational+sense.+Why!should!priests!be!the!only!ones!who!tell!us!how!to!get!into! heaven?!That+doesn’t+make+a+lot+of+sense.!And!that!leads!people!to!a!lot!of!big!decisions.!! ! Of!course,!the!idea!presented!by!the!narrator!is!that!Grenouille’s!deeds!are!not!less!noteworthy!than! de!Sade!et.!al.,!but!rather!since!he!accomplished!these!deeds!in!the!realm!of!scent!they!are!not! recorded!in!history!(during!this!Age!of!Reason).!To!make!a!connection!to!psychoanalysis,!in! Civilization+and+Its+Discontents,+Sigmund!Freud!explicitly!associates!the!rise!of!civilization!with!the! suppression!of!olfactory!stimuli:!“The!diminution!of!the!olfactory!stimuli!seems!itself!to!be!a! consequence!of!man’s!raising!himself!from!the!ground,!of!his!assumption!of!an!upright!gait;!this! made!his!genitals,!which!were!previously!concealed,!visible!and!in!need!of!protection,!and!so! provoked!feelings!of!shame!in!him.”!So,!why!is!there!presented!to!us!in!this!novel!the!co-existence! of!the!emergence!of!civilization!and!the!repression!of!the!sense!of!smell?!! ! There’s!quite!a!paradox!here!because!what!Süskind’s!narrator!is!offering!to!us!is!a!reconstruction!of! a!history!that!has!left!no!trace!whatsoever!in!so-called!“official”!history.!So!the!novel!is!concerned! with!the!recollection!and!documentation!of!what!has!been!wiped!off!the!slate!of!historical!memory;! its!project!is!to!remember!this!forgotten!history!!–!so,!yes,!without!giving!too!much!away,!we!can! say!that!he’s!“swallowed!up”!by!history!at!the!end!of!the!text.! ! […]! $ A!bit!of!a!non-sequitur!here,!sorry.!.!.!.!!One!of!our!tasks,!as!we!anticipate!the!events!that!are!to! unfold!in!Perfume,!is!to!understand!why!the!murder!of!beautiful!women!becomes!a!literary!topic,! how!murder!becomes!the!basis!of!fine!art!–!literature,!certainly,!but!also!perfume!–!and!how,! ultimately,!the!text!participates!in!a!broader!economy!of!violence.!But!perhaps!I’m!getting!ahead!of! myself.!Let’s!turn!to!a!closer!reading!of!the!text.!.!.!.! ! One!thing!we!can!try!to!do!is!to!pin!down!Grenouille.!Is!he!a!savant,!or!is!he!more?!Perhaps!his! abilities!lie!somewhere!between!genius!and!supernatural.!Somewhere!between!sub-human!(bestial,! or!maybe!monster,!like!Dracula)!and!human.!Or!between!human!and!super-human,!if!that!makes! sense.!Of!course,!the!entire!project!of!Grenouille!is!to!become!human;!a!part!of!humanity.!Indeed,! from!the!very!outset!of!the!text!he!is!denied!his!humanity.!!To!illustrate!you!could!look!at!the!early! interactions!with!the!Father/priest!in!the!second!chapter:! ! “But!why,!my!good!woman?”!said!Terrier,!poking!his!finger!in!the!basket!again.!“He!really!is! an!adorable!child.!He’s!rosy!pink,!he!doesn’t!cry,!and!he’s!been!baptized.”!! ! “He’s!possessed!by!the!devil.”!! ! Terrier!quickly!withdrew!his!finger!from!the!basket.!“Impossible!!It!is!absolutely!impossible! for!an!infant!to!be!possessed!by!the!devil.!An!infant!is!not!yet!a!human!being;!it!is!a! prehuman!being!and!does!not!yet!possess!a!fully!developed!soul.!Which!is!why!it!is!of!no! interest!to!the!devil.!Can!he!talk!already,!perhaps?!Does!he!twitch!and!jerk?!Does!he!move! things!about!in!the!room?!Does!some!evil!stench!come!from!him?”!! ! “He!doesn’t!smell!at!all,”!said!the!wet!nurse.!! ! “And!there!you!have!it!!That!is!a!clear!sign.!If!he!were!possessed!by!the!devil,!then!he!would! have!to!stink.”!

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! And!to!soothe!the!wet!nurse!and!to!put!his!own!courage!to!the!test,!Terrier!lifted!the!basket! and!held!it!up!to!his!nose.!! ! “I!smell!absolutely!nothing!out!of!the!ordinary,”!he!said!after!he!had!sniffed!for!a!while,! “really!nothing!out!of!the!ordinary.!Though!it!does!appear!as!if!there’s!an!odor!coming!from! his!diapers.”!! ! And!he!held!out!the!basket!to!her!so!that!she!could!confirm!his!opinion.!!

Actually,!the!negative!portrayal!of!the!priest!suggests!that!rationality!is!the!least!powerful!of!the! faculties.!Only!the!wet-nurse!is!aware!of!the!truth!of!Grenouille,!realizing!that!he!is!somehow!evil! because!he!emits!no!odor.$In!other!words,!Jeanne!Bussie!uses!scent!to!sense!the!“truth”!–!or!at!least! realize!that!there’s!something!not!quite!right!about!baby!Grenouille.$ ! One!question!that!we!can!consider!(perhaps!in!the!forums)!is!how!smell—or!by!extension!all!our! senses—is!reality;!words!are!useful!not!because!they!link!us!with!reality,!but!because!they!distance! us!from!it.!You!can!think!of!the!“wood”!episode.!After!he!takes!in!the!smell!of!wood,!even!days!later! Grenouille!is!threatened!by!the!memory!of!this!overpowering!smell;!how!does!he!ward!it!off?!By! merely!saying!“wood,!wood”!!Yet!without!words!we!cannot!communicate!with!others;!nor!can!we! get!our!bearings!in!a!world!populated!by!others.!But!Grenouille,!whose!reality!is!defined!entirely!by! what!he!takes!in!through!the!nose,!is!unable!to!comprehend!abstract!concepts:!justice,!ethics,! morality,!etc,!words!that!are!core!concepts!at!the!heart!of!the!Enlightenment!project.!! $ In!addition!to!questions!of!language!and!olfaction,!you!can!also!consider!Grenouille!as!a! laborer/artisan/producer—perhaps!even!a!machine.!As!we’ll!continue!to!read!as!we!get!through! the!novel,!Grenouille!produces!a!product,!but!he!is!not!mere!laborer!or!artisan!–!so!how!can!we! describe!him?!He!does!not!need!any!tools;!flasks,!measuring!devices,!or!whatever,!because!his!nose! is!the!only!tool/technology!he!needs.!Baldini,!of!course,!does!not!recognize!this:!“primitive!lack!of! judgment,”!he’ll!say!in!Chapter!15.!It!is!by!falling!back!even!on!instances!like!these!(even!before!the! serial!killings!and!why!he!commits!them)!that!compels!me!to!read!Grenouille!as!a!vampire!of!sorts.! He!is,!after!all,!described!at!one!moment!as!a!tick.! ! Writing$Assignment:$ Let’s!keep!things!relatively!basic!until!we!get!into!the!aspects!of!the!text!(murder,!punishment,! spectacle)!that!concern!us!a!bit!more.!What!I!would!like!you!to!do!for!now!is!post!your!initial! impressions!of!the!text!in!your!group!forum.!Be!sure!that!it!is!structured!in!a!way!that!opens!up! plenty!of!discussion.!Have!something!up!tonight!so!that!your!classmates!can!respond!in!a!timely! manner!and!also!see!early!on!how!you!are!approaching!and!analyzing!the!reading.!Another!lecture! on!Perfume+will!follow!next!week,!of!course.!.!.!.!I’ll!see!you!in!the!forums.!.!.!! !

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