Granouille's Developing Identity in Perfume Anonymous 11th Grade

Bildungsroman novels are identified by the grueling quest a protagonist undergoes in his search for place in society. The experiences the protagonist undergoes within this search contribute to their moral and psychological growth, building to one pinnacle point in their life, the long awaited identification of who they are or in some cases, the lack of it. In Patrick Susskind’s Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, the quest and transitions Granouille undergoes build his character and aids him in his search for identity.
Throughout the novel, the existence of identity is determined through whether or not an individual emits an odor. Initially the wet nurse Jean-Bussie states that Granouille himself does not emit an odor, foreshadowing what he will spend his days trying to achieve and establishing the fact that he has no identity. As he is passed on to Father Terrier, we are given a small yet telling demonstration of his extra-ordinary power of scent, as he smells the priest upon awakening. However, this power gets Granouille no closer to his goal of identity and while he may have the bodily form of a human being, it is his bodily existence that closes all possibilities for him to become one. Leaving his home, Granouille is adamant...