Often novels present characters of unfamiliar nature to engage the readers attention and through such characters, bringing in a unique scenario and perspective, successfully emphasizing the authors 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 Grenouilles 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 of hating the world in general, it was the people he disliked. He tries to escape human connection by traveling to Massif Central of the Auvergne, the point of the kingdom most distant from humankind. Suskinds point is further emphasized by Grenouilles inhuman lifestyle on the mountain, living like an animal with no use for creature comforts. It is clear that such a character who is barely human is not familiar nor common. Likewise, Gemmy is a character who is alienated from the world he lives in. He is seen as a black white man, belonging to neither white society or aboriginal society, he is a character of contradictions, both civilised savage, black and white, he had the mangy, half starved look of a black but also has the sun-bleached and pale-straw colours hair of a European. His isolation from the community he lives in is clearly conveyed by the reaction of those around him, those questioning if he is to be trusted and fearing the threat he represents. Questioning if he was in league with the blacks? and fearing that he was an infiltrator or spy. Such a character who is not accepted due to his abnormality resulting from his mixed identity is certainly not usual either. These two characters are unfamiliar and enable the reader to experience extraordinary scenarios through which core ideas can be emphasized by means of such exaggerated circumstances.
Grenouilles isolation from society is successfully used to present Suskinds main idea of mocking humanity and portraying a disgust for humankind. With his alienation, Grenouille can effectively observe humanity from a different perspective, allowing him see what the normal human could not, and reveal this revulsion for humankind. With his uniquely gifted nose and power with scents, the character Grenouille can convey this disgust for humanity through the use of grotesquely, vivid olfactory imagery. From early in his life Grenouille greedily engulfs the scents of the world, scents such as the hot maternal sweat of Bussie the wet nurse, the carrion stench of the Cemetiere des Innocents, the homicidal stench of his mother. Such foul and gruesome olfactory imagery illustrates how revolting the human race really is, and this is made possible through the use smell, one of the more commonly ignored senses, in this case greatly emphasized through the presentation of this very unique character. In a similar manner, Grenouilles emotional separation from society is used to mock human nature. Throughout his life, Grenouille yearns to be loved and acknowledged, but when he finally obtains what he desires in the instance when he captures the hearts of thousands, through the use of the perfume he created, he realised he could find no gratification in love but only in hatred. Grenouille observes with disgust, the orgy that results from his perfume. He witnesses the grunts and moans of ten thousand human beasts as he discovers he wants no love from people, as he further says the people themselves, every one of them, disgusted him. The trivialness of human love is portrayed in this scene through Grenouilles eyes as the more he hated the people the more they worshiped him, these people who believed they were worshipping this godlike figure Grenouille, where instead merely adoring the mask of scent he had created. Such an idea is further presented at the end of the novel, when Grenouille is murdered and devoured by his fellow man after he pours the last of his perfume over himself in their presence. Such a sinful and despicable act, that these people thought would neverhave been capable of anything so horrible is taken as an act of love as they had finally done something out of Love. This clearly reveals how this human love is so corruptible as even in this appalling act, such people feel they have made an act of love. The falseness of this human love and how easily it is manipulated is an idea clearly presented through the unfamiliar character Grenouille.
Gemmy too is used to convey ideas through his use as a catalyst. His presence amongst the European settlement forces those around him to confront their perception of themselves and question their own identities after seeing what could potentially happen to a white man. He imposes a fear of losing the core of their identity and the settlement begins to ask themselves could you lose it? Not just language but it. It. This fear of losing the basis of their identity, their civilised nature, put simply their whiteness, turns to a fear of the unknown, and through this, a fear of the aboriginal people. In his interaction with the settlement, his presence has different effects on different people. To some, his presence aggravates a brutal, violent and fearful reaction. This is shown by the actions of Hec Gosper, Ned Corcoran, Andy and Barney who were responsible for having the Ellens geeses throats cut, in retaliation for her family caring for Gemmy which further escalates to an attack on Gemmy himself. This reveals who the real primitive and savage people are. In contrast to this, he sparks a sudden epiphany and connection with nature in others such as Ellen, Jock and Janet. This idea is conveyed through the use of detailed imagery, when Jock experiences his epiphany he sees birds drinking as drawing long silver threads out of the heart of the water. Such vivid imagery expresses this connection with nature. Likewise, when Janet experiences her own epiphany, she sees the scenery around her described with this similar imagery, the moon in the night sky plucks at our world and all the waters of the world ache...and in a line of running fire all the outline of the vast continent appears, in touch with its other life, this poetic imagery too conveys the idea of a connection with nature. Gemmy himself, frequently experiences this connection with the land and this is created through the poetic diction of the imagery described through his experiences; as he walks through the newly burnt landscape the image of the sky is detailed as filled with a single cloud which is blooming with a light of a fallen sun, he sees the whole scenario as a breath out of the heart of the country. This realisation that the land has its own life force too shows Gemmys connection with the land. Gemmy acts as a catalyst in revealing peoples true natures. These characters are used to reveal the idea that there is still hope for humanity and that we can be at peace with one another. With relation to the epigraph at the start of the text referring to Jerusalem and Babylon; Jerusalem, a holy city, represents peace, liberty and tolerance while in contrast Babylon represents arrogance and confusion through the biblical story of the tower of Babel; Gemmy reveals the Jerusalem in some and unleashes the Babylon in others, his unfamiliar character as a half white, half aboriginal man successfully reveals the authors intentions as he bridges the gap between these two sides.
The interaction of Grenouille and Gemmy with other symbolic characters is used to present the texts main ideas. Grenouilles relation with other characters such as Baldini who represents the tradition and religion and Marquis who is symbolic of the enlightenment and the breakthrough of science are used to reveal the conflict between these two paradigms. This opposition between faith and reason is made clear through such symbolic characters as their mindsets are exposed when Grenouille enters their lives. Neither character is presented in a positive light and both meet terrible dooms, Baldini dying as his house was hurled into the river and Marquis who disappears into a blizzard, dying as he tries to prove his theory. From this it cannot be stated that Perfume is simply criticising reason or faith, rather Suskind is saying that reason is better for human development, but faith and emotion is still very necessary and is the core of what humankind are. This is displayed through this unfamiliar character of Grenouille who is uses reason to his advantage, succeeding in his endeavors by learning new skills, however he is still driven by his own passion and emotion. In a similar manner, Gemmys interaction with characters such as Janet and Andy who are characters symbolic of either Jerusalem or Babylon also plays a role in successfully conveying the ideas of this conflict between Jerusalem and Babylon. The reaction these characters have to Gemmy portrays their inner natures and through this the conflict between the two is established. The peace and connection to the land Gemmy inspires in others conveys the hope for humankind which is the key idea Malouf wishes to present. The use of symbolic characters is made possible by their interaction with such unfamiliar protagonists as it is these protagonists who create such extraordinary circumstances which act to emphasise and successfully present the ideas of the texts.
In Remembering Babylon and Perfume two very unique and extraordinary protagonists are presented. These characters, Gemmy and Grenouille, enable the writers to create exaggerated circumstances through which their ideas could be emphasised and promoted. The use of olfactory imagery made possible by the characterization of Grenouille was a key means through which the Suskind could present his idea of the disgustingness of humanity and through this imagery essentially make fun of humankind. This is similar in Remembering Babylon as by use of vivid imagery of nature, introduced through Gemmys characterisation, Malouf too reveals his ideas of the nature of humanity, whether it be Jerusalem or Babylon. The use of such unfamiliar characters draws the reader out of the ordinary and confronts them with worlds they would never travel experience, this enables the core ideas of the writers to be emphasised and successfully presented.
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