In order to free himself those past smells, Grenouille first had to assemble them. The hate that Grenouille has towards them is shown in the way the odors are described. The use of adjectives like “steaming vapors”, “hot maternal sweat” or “oppressive heat” creates this sense of heat. This refers to the fires of hell, accentuating how torturous these smells were for Grenouille. Suskind also makes use of alliteration in this first part:
“Madame Gaillard’s bedroom; the bone-dry, leathery bouquet of her hands; the vinegary breath of father Terrier” Line 6
“The hysterical, hot…” “Line 7
These alliterations help emphasize the meaning of each word making them heavier and more thus oppressive.
Once Grenouille slowly gathered all the scents, “the pent-up hate would erupt with orgasmic force”. This is a crucial and climatic moment where just like a volcano he will propel with colossal force the scents and at the same time all the flame/anger inside him. Every odor is ejected rapidly and brutally, this image is created by the use of words such as: “thunderstorm”, “he rolled” (fast), “like a hurricane, he scattered”. When there are no more scents, the relief is “orgasmic” and Grenouille is just savoring the moment:
“How great his revenge. Ah! What a sublime moment!” Lines 24-25
Grenouille is triumphant. The fire of anger inside him has been put off – “this volcanic act that extinguished all obnoxious odors”. Lines 29-30
This freedom of all odors leads to the metamorphosis of Grenouille.
The idea that Grenouille is growing is first shown when Suskind describes that “This was almost his favorite routine in the whole repertoire of his innermost universal theatre, for it imparted to him the wonderful sense of righteous exhaustion…” Lines 31-33
The fact that it is a “routine” and that it gives a “wonderful sense of righteous exhaustion” suggests that the extinction of the past oppressive scents is the equivalent of masturbating for Grenouille, which is also suggesting that he is growing up. However for him the orgasm is even greater because it also gives him the sense of completing “truly grand heroic deeds”.
After completing his “routine”, Grenouille is free and falls asleep in harmony with nature. He then wakes up as if he was reborn, for all past odors were extinct, and “there was no real thing in Grenouille’s innermost universe, only the odors of things”. Grenouille then realizes that nothing can stop him now that “the pack of demons was annihilated” and there are no more constraints in the beginning of his new life. Victorious, he stands up gloriously and portrays himself now as a god. Grenouille sees himself “proud and majestic”. This is a very strong image of Grenouille standing up at the top of a mountain overlooking his “Empire” and saying that it was “Created and ruled over by him” – Grenouille is the creator and ruler of life, Grenouille is now god.
From this point on, Grenouille goes deeper and deeper into his inner journey of being god. His imagination has no limit He calls himself “Grenouille the Great”.
“…strewing seeds by the fistful or tucking them in one by one in selected spots.”
He is basically the one who creates life by planting seeds everywhere.
Metaphors are being used in this section where Grenouille sees his subjects to be nature/the Earth.
“Then Grenouille the Great commanded rain to stop. And it was so. And he sent the gentle sun of his smile upon the land”
But like all mortals, Grenouille got tired but yet continued to pretend he is a god by talking like them:
“Behold, I have done a great thing, and it begins to bore me. I shall withdraw…”
What Grenouille does not know however, is that the gods hate it when mortals try to be one of them, ever since back in the Greek Mythologies. The gods hate seeing humans trying to decide of their own fate the fates of others and thus curse them. Oedipus for example thought he was so great that the gods had to put him back where he belongs, amongst the mortals. The same thing happened Grenouille the Great, no matter how great his powers were, he was cursed by the gods and could never smell himself.
The style in this extract has created grandiose imageries through the use of literary devices such as metaphors, similes, use of words, alliteration and the reference to the Greek tragedies which says that mortals do not decide of their fate and that great things never last. Poor Grenouille might be enjoying himself now, but he will soon come to realize how absurd it was to think he could control the world id he himself was cursed.