51 pages • 1-hour read
The Perfumist of Paris
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Symbols & Motifs
Scents
In the novel, scent works as a key to unlocking the past, in the form of memories as well as past selves. References to specific scents like sandalwood and layered olfactory imagery are present throughout the novel. The scents stand in for important places and characters when Radha feels homesick, revealing the vital role scent plays in a person’s ability to access the formative memories that define their identities. Olfactory imagery precedes the flashbacks that contextualize Radha’s past and explain her present situation, such as the description of the heavy scent of sandalwood in the haveli that not only triggers emotional memories of Niki’s birth but causes overwhelming physical sensations for Radha. The scent she has formulated to mimic Niki’s baby smell connects Radha to her innermost sense of calm; this is a clue that in cutting herself off from Niki, she has lost an integral piece of her identity that she must find to feel whole again. Finally, her quest for the elusive missing scent in Olympia’s fragrance mirrors Radha’s inner quest to find the missing pieces of her identity and make herself whole.
Food
Repeated references to specific foods in the novel serve as symbolic shorthand for the cultural identities, temperaments, and relationships of major characters. For example, Pierre is associated with white wine, a quintessentially French beverage that he prefers to others. Radha does not enjoy wine but drinks it as a way of proving her love for Pierre. Similarly, though Pierre does not like chai, he has perfected a recipe and drinks it to show his love for Radha. White wine and chai are as different from each other as Pierre and Radha turn out to be, and like the two drinks that do not mix, Pierre and Radha decide they work better alone.
Food and drink also represent comfort, support, and care for others. Radha’s homesickness is cured by the smells and tastes of her favorite street foods in Agra. At the haveli, the courtesans pride themselves on the lavish and decadent meals they offer guests, knowing that their hospitality honors their guests and ensures pleasant business relationships. Pierre’s offer of a truce after fighting with Radha over her upcoming business trip comes in the form of a steaming cup of chai. Initially, Radha interprets Florence’s vocal preference for French cuisine as a dig against her own culture and cooking, and she allows resentment to grow between them. Florence’s choice to make paella for Niki later signals their truce, since the dish is neither Indian nor French. Like scent, foods connect characters to their cultural roots and serve as signals for the state of their relationships with themselves and others.
Art and Architecture
As a motif, repeated references to art forms in the novel explore the vital need for human endeavors that are emotionally and aesthetically fulfilling. Radha’s aspiration to become a master perfumer cannot be reduced to economic necessity; Pierre tells her she doesn’t have to work since he makes enough money to support the household. However, Radha pursues her skill for her own pleasure and sense of accomplishment. Unlike Pierre, who views his job as an architect as drudgery because he reduces it to an economic function, Radha uses her work to connect with her deepest, truest self. She learned to pursue her passions by watching the pride and joy Lakshmi took in creating henna patterns for customers, and she wishes to pass on this sense of pleasure in work and art to Niki when she secures him a scholarship to the arts college in Paris. Similarly, the women of the kotha in Agra find liberation by pursuing the classical arts and arts of seduction, using them to serve their pleasures and ambitions. The novel’s depictions of liberation and self-fulfillment through art prove that it is difficult to form a cohesive and positive identity without work and passion.
Additionally, allusions to classical European and Indian art and architecture throughout the novel explore the conflicts Radha faces as conflicts faced by women throughout time. Radha’s story parallels the story of Victorine Meurent, who followed her ambition to paint and modeled for painters who would become famous. Though painters like Edgar Degas and Édouard Manet used her physical form as an inspiration, they also ruined her reputation and social standing out of jealousy for her talents. Radha, too, was used and then abandoned: first by Ravi Singh, then by Ferdinand, and even by Pierre, aligning her story with Victorine’s. Similarly, Havi’s reframing of the majestic Taj Mahal as a poor thanks for Mumtaj Mahal’s sacrifice of her life to bear her husband’s 14 children reveals that patterns of using women and forgetting them cross time and cultures. The novel advocates pursuing art forms that uplift and speaks out against those that rely on exploitation.
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