Comparative Essay On Perfume And Remembering Babylon Essay

Often novels present characters of unfamiliar nature to engage the reader’s attention and through such characters, bringing in a unique scenario and perspective, successfully emphasizing the author’s main ideas. Two such characters presented are Gemmy in ‘Remembering Babylon’ and Grenouille in ‘Perfume’. Gemmy is a European man, raised for much of his life by Aboriginals, transforming him into an “in-between creature” no longer belonging to either white or aboriginal worlds, thus making this character unfamiliar and exceptional. Similarly, Grenouille is a man totally distant from human emotions, his alienation from morals and ethics have made him a monster, while his extraordinary sense of smell unlike any being on the planet further isolates him for human familiarity. Both characters are conveyed as the protagonist of their respective texts and are central to portraying the major ideas of the texts.

The two protagonists presented are very unusual and unique, certainly unfamiliar to a reader. Grenouille is a character who from birth is presented as an extraordinary and unusual being right from the beginning of the novel, described as “one of the most gifted and abominable personages” in the first line of the text. This opening leads on to Grenouille’s unique characterization as an individual who is totally alienated from human society with his complete isolation from human emotions. From childhood Grenouille required no affection, “for his sole he required nothing” he had no need for “security, attention, tenderness, love” or whatever else “that children are said to require.” His gratification rests in hatred rather than in love which is what makes him monstrous and evil, with a total disregard for morals, as he had “never found gratification in love, but always only in hatred” his life rested in “hating and in being hated”. This is further emphasized in the second part of the novel, Grenouille feels disgust towards humanity and realizes that all along, instead...