THE LATENT IN SÜSKIND\u27S NOVEL PERFUME

Diplomsko delo analizira roman Parfum s pomočjo freudovskih psihoanalitičnih konceptov, pri čemer so obravnavani glavni lik Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, stranski liki, njihovi medsebojni odnosi ter pomen simbolov, fantazij in sanj, ki se pojavijo v romanu. Analiza je pokazala, da je Grenouille, zaradi izgube matere in zavračanja v otroštvu, patološka osebnost, ki ne razvije vesti (superega). Njegovo delovanje usmerja nezavedno, ki hlepi po ugodju. To ugodje pa mu prinašajo vonji, saj so ti njegov libidinalni objekt. Še posebej močno fiksacijo libida predstavlja vonj deklice z mirabelami, ki jo umori. Ob umiku v rov na Plomb du Cantal se mu zgodi regresija libida na vonj umorjene deklice, ki s pomočjo fantazij izoblikuje Grenouilla v narcisoidnega psihopata. Ugotovili smo, da stranske like odlikuje nemoralnost, ki izhaja iz nebrzdanih, prepovedanih želja, kar odločilno vpliva na njihove odnose z glavnim likom, obravnavane skozi učinek, izkoriščanje in krivdo. Med simboli vonj simbolizira resnico, medtem ko je parfum simbol za laž. S tema simboloma smo razložili tudi sporočilo romana, ki je povezano z vprašanjem fenomenologije zla v družbi. Odgovor na vprašanje, kako zlo nastaja, se uveljavlja in posledično zmaga, smo našli v freudovski strukturi osebnosti oz. v zmagi gonov nad superegom posameznika. Posamezniki so namreč tisti, ki v zameno za lastne koristi omogočajo zlu, da sčasoma postane vsemogočno in preraste v množično zablodo družbe. Ker se Süskindova družba nikdar ne ustavi, da bi povohala smrad lastne resnice in ji je posledično onemogočeno vsakršno spoznanje o sami sebi, je obsojena na večno pojavljanje zla (na Jean-Baptiste Grenouille).This diploma thesis analyses the novel Perfume with the help of Freudian psychoanalytic concepts, the main character Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, the side characters, their relations and the meaning of symbols, phantasies and dreams which appear in the novel. The analysis has shown that Grenouille, due to the loss of his mother and the rejection in his childhood, is a pathological personality, who does not develop a proper conscience (superego). His activities are directed by his unconscious which craves for pleasure. This pleasure derives from scents, which are his libidinal object. A particularly strong fixation of libido is represented by the smell of the plum girl, whom he murders. When he withdraws in a tunnel on the Plomb du Cantal, a regression to the smell of the murdered girl occurs, and with the help of phantasies, Grenouille is shaped into a narcissistic psychopath. We discovered that the side characters are afflicted by immorality, which arises from the untamed, forbidden wishes, which decisively affect the relations between them and the main character. These relations are treated through the criteria of effect, expoitation and guilt. Regarding symbols, the scent is the symbol for truth, while the perfume is a symbol for a lie. With these two symbols, we also explained the point of the novel, which is linked to the question of the phenomenology of evil in society. The answer to the question, how evil starts, establishes itself and consequentially wins, lies in the Freudian structure of personality, thus in the win of drives over the individual\u27s superego. Individuals are the ones, who in the name of petty selfinterests, allow evil to become allmighty and grow over time into a mass delusion of society. Due to the fact that Süskind\u27s society never stops to smell its own truth and is consequentially denied any knowledge of itself, it is sentenced to an everlasting occurrence of evil (to Jean-Baptiste Grenouilles)