Osphresiolagnia and Literature

Personal scents:

If you haven’t realized it yet, then let me tell you that smelling a girl’s room is positively delightful! From her closet to her pillows to her drawers, there’s a combination of aromas from things such as the laundry detergent, the skincare products, the body wash, the shampoo, and the perfumes. All of these things are very straightforward, manufactured smells. To include the human’s physical chemistry in the mixture provides the individualistic and absolute difference. This is what my friend and I have been obsessing over, which is sleeping over at each others’ house to immerse in this specific atmosphere. Other things I’ve realized? I can smell my bro’s sneeze.. which is gross.

Iparhan was a concubine to Emperor Qianlong during the 17^th century. It is said that her body produced a natural, fragrant scent that captivated the emperor so much she was appointed to leave her Turkish homeland to Beijing. She washed herself in camel’s milk daily to preserve her mysterious aroma. No one is sure what her scent exactly was, but I imagine a warm, candied, oriental air for her.

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille
A nose that was so divine and so great that it was fatally dangerous, Grenouille is the fictional character in Patrick Suskind’s novel and movie, Perfume. I was entranced by the main character and his obsessive need for the perfect fragrance. At times, he was so corrupt it was amazing. If smells are an aesthetic, the idea of it beauty and insanity being one is full of passion and depth. Beauty can not be attained because it is only within the illusion – not the subject, and it is essentially a dream-state that we’ve created to adore. The might of this sensation is fearful and chilling.

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