Perfume

Perfume

by

Patrick Süskind

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Perfume makes teaching easy.

Marquis de la Taillade- Espinasse Character Analysis

A marquis who retired from court life at Versailles to pursue scientific discovery. His pet project is the idea of fluidum vitale, or the idea that the earth contains poisonous gases that can do damage, while places and items that are "earth-removed" (places with high elevation, or birds) are healing. Grenouille provides the perfect example of his theory in action when he comes to the marquis' attention after spending seven years in a cave. The marquis uses Grenouille to support his theory, gives several lectures, and pays Grenouille for being a research subject. The marquis eventually decides to climb the highest mountain in the Pyrenees, from which he will return a man aged 20 thanks to the healing powers of the fluidum vitale at the high elevation, but he never returns.

Marquis de la Taillade- Espinasse Quotes in Perfume

The Perfume quotes below are all either spoken by Marquis de la Taillade- Espinasse or refer to Marquis de la Taillade- Espinasse. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Growing Up and Becoming Human Theme Icon
).
Part 2, Chapter 30 Quotes

“You will realize for the first time in your life that you are a human being; not a particularly extraordinary or in any fashion distinguished one, but nevertheless a perfectly acceptable human being.”

Related Characters: Marquis de la Taillade- Espinasse (speaker), Jean-Baptise Grenouille
Page Number: 144
Explanation and Analysis:
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Marquis de la Taillade- Espinasse Quotes in Perfume

The Perfume quotes below are all either spoken by Marquis de la Taillade- Espinasse or refer to Marquis de la Taillade- Espinasse. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Growing Up and Becoming Human Theme Icon
).
Part 2, Chapter 30 Quotes

“You will realize for the first time in your life that you are a human being; not a particularly extraordinary or in any fashion distinguished one, but nevertheless a perfectly acceptable human being.”

Related Characters: Marquis de la Taillade- Espinasse (speaker), Jean-Baptise Grenouille
Page Number: 144
Explanation and Analysis: