Perfume: Part 3, Chapter 39 Summary & Analysis

In January, Madame Arnulfi marries Druot, who is promoted to master perfumer and glover, although the Madame keeps her name and control of the finances. In March, Grenouille decides to see how the mysterious girl's scent is developing. He's overwhelmed by the scent when he catches it, and again stands outside the garden wall. Rather than being intoxicated, Grenouille is happy like a lover. He doesn't love the girl herself, just her scent, but he swears that he'll bring home her scent within the year.

That night in his cabin, Grenouille thinks of the girl's scent and immerses himself in it. When he begins to fall asleep, however, the scent disappears and Grenouille is terrified. He wonders what will happen when he runs out of the scent, thinking he'll have to live with the knowledge that he had at one time possessed the perfume. He wonders what he needs the perfume for at all.

At that thought, Grenouille feels chilled and wonders how long he can keep the scent. He wants to walk out and make the trek to his old cave, where he could fall asleep and die, but he resists the desire, as it's a “known” desire. Possessing and then losing a scent, however, is unknown, and he reasons that it seems more desirable. Grenouille "the tick," having reasoned to let himself drop one last time, lays back and thinks himself heroic.

Grenouille continues his line of reasoning and considers how to make the perfume of the girl last longer. He finally sees that using the scent in pure form is crude and unsophisticated, and decides he must "set it like the most precious gemstone" in a setting of other scents, and for this he needs other ingredients.