"Pursuit" And "Loss": An Interpretation Of The Five Stages Of The Protagonist’s Life In Perfume

Patrick Suskind is a famous contemporary German novelist. His works Perfume: TheStory of a Murderer was published in1985, which made him internationally famous in theliterary field. In Germany, it is generally accepted that Perfume is the original achievementin German Postmodern Literature and this novel is acknowledged as the outstandingachievement of German contemporary literary field.In his Perfume, Patrick Suskind showed the readers an anecdote happened in Paris inthe18th century from a new perspective of odor. A gifted eccentric murdered25younggirls to create a kind of perfume that can inspire others’“love”. The man was arrested as asinner.But on the execution ground, people mistakenly regarded him as an angel for hismiraculous perfume. His life had been saved by the perfume, however, his hopelessnessmade him commit suicide by spraying perfume.Based on close reading and analysis of text, I think that there are some importantquestions worthy of further discussion:1. What is the core driving force to promote thedevelopment of the story?2. What do the various odors represent?3. Does the ending ofthe protagonist mean success or failure?4.What dose the perfume made by the protagonistat last stand for?In order to solve the above questions, I believe that the life journey of the protagonistof the novel can be divided into five stages in accordance with the changes of his “pursuit”and “loss”. The aim of this thesis is to analyze the essence of his tragic life and findanswers to the above questions by revealing the changes of his “pursuit” and “loss” in thefive stages of his life.The introduction part includes a brief introduction to Patrick Suskind and Perfume, thecurrent situation of the study of this masterpiece, the aim of this study and the outline of thethesis.This thesis can be divided into five main parts:The first part introduces that the instinct for survival stage is the protagonist’schildhood experiences. In this stage, the protagonist’s survival will covers his “pursuit” and“loss”. This part analyzes the reasons for the formation of the protagonist’s personalityworld view.The second part discusses in the “pursuit” stage, the protagonist was unaware of his“loss” by chasing the young girl’s scent,and he realizes his life values. This part analyzes the “loss” behind the “pursuit”.The third part discusses in the “loss” stage, protagonist felt satisfied with his life, butaccidentally found the “birth defect” of his lack of “body odor” which caused the change ofhis pursuit.The four part discusses in disillusionment stage, the protagonist failed to make up his“loss” in the process of his “pursuit” of perfume, finally causing his disillusionment ofhope. This part analyzes the protagonist’s essence of life with “pursuit” and “loss”.In the fifth part discusses in the reselection stage, the protagonist made new choice byreflect his “pursuit” and “loss”. This part explores the connotation of the location, time andway to commit suicide，in order to explore the connotation of perfume in this fiction.The conclusion part in which the summary of the five stages is concluded, interpretingthe tragic essence built by his “pursuit” and “loss” in the protagonist’ life.