4.2. Jean Baptiste Grenouille’s Maladaptive and Atypical Behavior
In the previous chapter Chapter II has been briefly explained about the psychological disorder. Basically, all of the elements in human beings must be in a
normal condition and perfect for a balance so that each of human being can play their roles properly in the society. When a person experiences an imbalance in these
elements, it is likely he will make mistakes in his daily life.
In Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind, described its main character is a young man who shows no signs of normal behavior, and it is
presumably has something to do with his psychological. Jean Baptiste Grenouille, is a young man who killed 25 women in order to fulfill his obsession as the best
perfume maker in the world. This vile behavior is a sign that indicates the presence of abnormalities within Grenouille that eventually endanger the innocents. In this
sub-chapter, will be further explained about Jean Baptiste Grenouille’s psychological disorder and any of his maladaptive and atypical behaviors.
a. Jean Baptiste Grenouille’s Psychological Disorder
Grenouille was born and grows in a harsh life at a very young age, Grenouille has to undergo series of problems that are very hard for people at his age. These
problems then lead to the emergence of the psychological disorders in Grenouille. As what Davis says in Psychopathology, the actions toward the experience a sufferer
goes through are describing his mental processes, and it is an important thing to know in analyzing someone’s mental and behavior.
To be able to know what kind of psychological disorders experienced by Grenouille, descriptions retrieved from the portrayal of the character in the novel.
Causes and symptoms which he shows to be adjusted to the symptoms of the psychological disease based on the DSM-IV.
Grenouilles psychological disorder is classified in the third class of four classes of the causes of a psychological disorder by Davis. Based on the description
of the author, Grenouille does not have any disease in his nervous system or his brain. But he has experiences outside himself that can impair his psychosis. That means he
has no significance symptoms, his appearance was rather fine, he does not seem like having a mental issue. He makes so little interaction, he shows no interest except for
smells. He seems like a man with lack of emotions. This happens because he grows up in a situation where he does not know love and affection, which he neglected by
his mother since birth so that he is able to commit murder without fear, pity, and guilt.
In Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, Grenouille is said as a man who is obsessed with scent. He has an obsession to create the ultimate scent that can
control the people who smelled it. He is a genius perfumer who uses young women as the main ingredient of the perfume he creates. The murder of those young girls
that he commits, he does it with no guilty or sorry. He does not feel the insistence of the pity while doing that heinous action.
The sound of the blow was a dull, grinding thud. He hated it. ....................................................................................................
He could bear that gruesome sound only by cleching his teeth, and, after it was all over...his body fell back to a pliable
ease.
Süskind, 1986:216 From the signs that portrayed by Süskind as above and if those signs adjusted
with the symptoms or signs of psychological illness that exists in the theory of Abnormal Psychology and DSM-IV, the closest disease of which is shown by
Grenouille in the novel is a personality disorder. Personality disorder is a psychological disorder that does not too striking if it seems from the appearance of
the sufferer. Personality disorders result in the abnormal aggressive or seriously irresponsible behavior that commonly known as psychopathic disorder. The disease
is included in other non-psychotic mental conditions. Personality disorder itself is applied to those who cannot able to follow the society’s code and act inadequate,
eccentric, and excitable. The sufferer’s behavior can be harmful and they show the signs start at the early age.
Personality disorder is a disease that will not interfere with the way the sufferer in running his life. But if the disease is shown, it can disrupt not only
themselves but also others. From the quotation above, Davis said that the symptoms that allow the emergence of personality disorder must have been shown ever since
the sufferer is still in childhood. So that happened with Grenouille, since childhood he has been showing signs that imply the existence of abnormalities in his
personality. These symptoms may appeared since he is neglected by his own mother, and then continues to have difficulties and experienced social problems until that
personality disorder continues to grow and getting stronger.
There are three different clusters in personality disorder and Grenouille belongs to the dramatic-erratic cluster, which is he is an anti-social, with the
tendency of an introvert. In the social life of human, someone with the anti-social is the most dangerous to public safety. This disease can be experienced in a long time.
They do not feel the emotions and feelings of a normal human being; they will feel no fear in any law, no guilt, no remorse, no sense of anxiety and lack of a sense of
responsibility as a human being. In anti social personality disorder, one shows a long term pattern of irresponsible, impulsive, unscrupulous behavior beginning in early
life, anti-social is what used to be called as psychopath or sociopath.
Almost like in most of psychological problems, the role of the parent is not able to be separated for any reason. Starting from a child is born, he learned of what
he saw and felt, what he saw based on what other people do and what he felt through the treatment he got. When the child gets and see positive things, then it is very
likely he or she will grow well. However, the opposite is also possible.
According to Davis and other psychologists, people with anti-social personality disorder are often claimed to be abused as children. Child abuse can be
associated with crime and anti-social personality disorder, strongly suggested that abuse can be one of the causes of this disorder. Childhood abuse is not only about
physical violence, but also verbal. In Grenouille’s case, his mother neglected him. At that moment, it is possible for Grenouille realizes that his mother does not love him.
Even after being adopted, Grenouille keep getting bad treatment from the surrounding people, he is bullied verbally which can be regarded as child abuse.
b. Jean Baptiste Grenouille’s Atypical Behavior
For someone who suffering from psychological disorder, abnormal behavior is often shown as the symptom of the disease he has. Grenouille who suffers
abnormalities in his psychology shows abnormal behaviors and maladaptive behavior that can hurt the surrounding people. Here, will be described the events that show the
abnormal behavior of Grenouille in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer.
Atypical behavior can be defined as a behavior that is not normal, not usual, or even inappropriate for other people who sees it because this behavior is not
suitable to the people’s opinion or society’s norm, this behavior can also cause confusion or even frightened some people. Just as maladaptive behavior, abnormality
is therefore seen as the development of behavior patterns that can be considered harmful not only for the individual but also for others.
In Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, the main character Jean Baptiste Grenouille is not only has peculiarities in terms of his biological side, his sensing
ability that is more than an ordinary man, but also there is an abnormality in the way he behaves in everyday life. Abnormal behavior surfaced even he was a child.
The tiny wings of flesh around the two tiny holes in the child’s face swelled like a bud opening to bloom. Or rather,
like the cups of that small meat-eating plant that was kept in the royal botanical gardens. It seemed to Terrier as if the chid
saw him with its nostrils...
Süskind, 1986:17 Some of his abnormal behavior can be considered frightening even for adults.
Grenouille’s gestures does not match with infant behaviors in general and it frightened the people around him. Grenouilles atypical behavior above is caused by
his special ability and thats what makes him see with his nose. But still, for ordinary people his behavior can be considered strange and weird.
Grenouille is described as someone with a closed personality. He is almost never communicate with others. It is also a symptom that shows abnormalities within
Grenouille. When Grenouille grows up into a teenager, he locks himself out of the world that is supposed to be experienced by the child in his age. He does not care
about the other children in his age, games, laughter, and so on.
He lived encapsulated in himself and waited for better times. He gave the world nothing but his dung—no smile, non cry,
no glimmer in the eye, not even his own scent.
Süskind, 1986:22 Grenouille is more interested in anything other than the human beings, it
shows that he is an introvert. It can also be said to be unreasonable because humans are social beings who cannot live without the other by human in her life, but
Grenouille breaks that the theoretical statement by living in his own world, the world of scent.
And when the last a puff of air would toss a delicate thread of scent his way, he would lunge it and not let go. Then he
would smell at onlly this one odor, holding it tight, pulling himself and preserving it for all time.
Süskind, 1986:34 Instead of communication with humans, Grenouille spends more time to
breathe free air around him without any human presence other than himself. Grenouille avoids any contact with humans because it is said that he hates the smell
of humans who he had been smelled all the time. He feels a magical calmness when
does not with other human and just smell the odors that exist, such as trees, sea, land, and others.
Long before any visible sign indicate that he was in the vicinity of a city, Grenouille sensed a condensation of human
stuff in the air and, reversing his orignial plan, decide to avoid Orleans.
Süskind, 1986:116 Grenouille does not like the smell of the human body which he considered
bad, except for some specific kind of human who have very beautiful smell to him. The scent of a womans body, for the ordinary human might be considered normal, it
means that there is nothing very special about it. However, for someone like Grenouille, the best nose in Paris, that scent is what he wants to be his own body
scent so that he can be loved others.
Here he stopped, gathering his forces, and smelled. He had it. He had hold of it tight. The odor came rolling down the rue
de Seine like a ribbon, unmistakably clear, and yet as before very delicate and very fine.
Süskind, 1986:39 Grenouille who is actually a social being, decides to live without other people
around. He chooses to alienate himself into a cave that has no single human scent at all. This proves that Grenouille is not someone who can assimilate himself into a
group of people because since he was young, he was used to the loneliness created by people who know him. When he once again finds the scent of a very beautiful girl,
he decides to look for a way to be able to make a perfume that is the same as that womans body odor. It is done because he has an obsession that he wants to be loved
by those who were previously unaware of his presence, and never appreciated him.
This is a proof that Grenouille is actually holding a grudge for the behaviors that he had got since birth. And that grudge that makes him become a serial killer.
Grenouille never showed any response to the treatment he has ever received. And in the mission of realizing his obssesion, he decides to make people think that
he is just an obedient worker, he is able to create the impression of a worker who is willing to work all day without ever complaining. This behavior is shown by
Grenouille so that he can continue his plan. As a serial killer, Grenouille has a neat way and strategies in running his action. And this describes how bis is Grenouilles
obsession in creating the ultimate scent.
He left it to the other journeyman to find his society dull and unprofitable. He was a master in the art of spreading boredom
and playing might enjoy making fun of him or use him as the butt of some crude practicial joke inside the guild. He
succeeded in being considerable totally uninteresting. People left him alone. And that was all he wanted.
Süskind, 1986:182 Grenouille, that in every act of killing that he did, he has never even feel
guilty or even feel sorry for his victims. Instead, he feels he is getting closer to his ultimate goal and it makes him very happy and proud of himself. Apparently, the
result that he expected does not happen at all. After he reached the goal that he desired, but it does not make him feel love and be loved. He still is not a perfect man,
and even the most powerful perfume that he created cannot cover up that fact that perfume is simply becomes a mask to fool the people. His last abnormal behavior is
something that can never be done by humans with normal psychology, Grenouille finally shows how vulnerable he really is.
That was the first thing that any of them could recall: that he had stood there and unstoppered a bottle.
.................................................................................................... Each of them want to touch him, wanted to have a piece of
him... they attacked him like hyenas. Süskind, 1986:254
Jean Baptiste Grenouille, a man who was born without love and never be loved, the most vile human on earth but also the saddest man ever. He is a product of
what have been done by the people to him. His mother, who supposedly to be the only person who could prevent it all, neglected him and it makes him fall into this
cruel world with no shelter. His mother and those people of France who made him grow as an obsessed man, a very bad obsession yet innocent of making people loved
him. He chooses his final step, he does not want to live anymore. And when those humanly cannibal hyenas finished their feast, “For the first time they had done
something out of love.” Süskind: 1986:255
c. Jean Baptiste Grenouille’s Maladaptive Behavior
Maladaptive behavior is a behavior that indicates the inability of the patients to adjust to the norms, laws and demands that exist and prevailing in a society where
he is. Maladaptive behavior is characterized by a slow cognitive development, lack of confidence, destructive behavior toward self or others, the absence of a sense of
responsibility for acts committed, there is no sense of empathy for others, and so on. In social life, this behavior can be said to be dangerous and threatening because the
sufferer is not only slow to adapt himself to the rules and norms that exist, but also can hurt or even harm people because basically the rules are created for the common
good among individuals in society.
Maladaptive Behavior committed by Jean Baptiste Grenouille in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer appeared because of the social problems that he experienced
so he had a deviance in his personality. He receives lots of traumatic treatment so he builds a defense to get rid of those memories. He did not get the love and affection
he needs from his parents and treated differently by the people because of his oddity, makes Grenouille wants to change peoples perception about him, he does everything
he can to get what he did not back then. This maladaptive behavior that could harm himself and others triggered by his obsession. He kills his victims with no worry or
even feeling guilty, he regards those girls as flowers that could only plucked by himself. This is one of the symptoms of psychological disorders that can hurt anyone,
humans or even animals.
The first maladaptive behavior that Grenouille shows is an accident. He kills a woman who he follows because she has a very captivating scent. Due to lack of
understanding of people and lack of experience in social interaction, Grenouille finally kills the woman accidentally.
She was so frozen with terror at the sight of him that he had plenty of time to put his hands to her throat. He in turn, did
not look at her, did not see her delicate, freckled face, her red lips, her large sparkling eyes, keeping his eyes closed
tight as he strangled her, for he had only one concern--not to lose the least trace of her scent.
Süskind, 1986:42 Maladaptive behavior of Grenouille not only shown to human beings, but
also to the other creatures around him. He did not feel hesitate to kill humans and animals to be the objects of his experiments in finding the most effective way to keep
scents. This deadly behavior of Grenouille is done solely for the sake of achieving his goals.
He hunted for winter flies, for maggots, raps, small cats, and drowned them in warm oil. At night he crept into stalls to
drape cows, goats, and piglets, for a few hours in cloths smeard with oil or to wrap them in greasy bandages.
Süskind, 1986:185 Grenouille who does not understand the concept of compassion and
understanding about whats good or bad, considers his behavior as a behavior that can be justified. This happens because he gets a similar treatment since he was little
and it makes he considers that it is the right thing and normal. Such behavior is very dangerous if it is addressed to living creatures around him..
He first tried it with a puppy. He enticed it away from its mother with a piece of meat, all the way from the
slaughterhouse to the laboratory, and as the animal panted excitedly and lunged joyfully... he gave one quick, hard blow
to the black of its head with a piece of wood.
Süskind, 1986:186 Grenouille maladaptive behavior continues, and this time Grenouille is no
longer hesitates in choosing his victim. A terror attacked Grasse, a vicious killer stalking young girls for mysterious reasons. One by one they died. The killer only
left the bodies of his victims, naked and no hair, with a wound in the back of their heads allegedly due to a hard blow, and there were no signs of sexual harassment
because they all died virgins.
... the naked body of a fifteen-year-old girl was found in a rose field... She had been killed by a heavy blow to the back
of the head. She was indeed a girl of exquisite beauty. And she was very young, so very young, that the flow of her allure
had not yet grown viscous. Her hair, however, was gone.
Süskind, 1986:194 Grenouilles maladaptive behavior, which is merciless, continues to take
victims. This is an proof that he does not consider the life of a living creatures as a
sacred thing. Psychological disorders of Grenouille makes him break all of the social norms and laws that applied in the society where he is located.
... two more murders occurred. Again the victims were very lovely young girls, again of the languid, raven-haired sort,
again they were found naked and shorn and lying in a flower field...
Süskind, 1986:195 Maladaptive behaviors of Grenouille creates a tremendous terror for the
people of Grasse. The lives of the innocent people are easily gone. And this behavior continues for several months, creating a big mess in the society of Grasse.
A few days after the double murder, they found a body yet another girl, abused in the same manners as the others. This
time it was a Sardinian washer-woman from from the bishop’s palace.
Süskind, 1986:196 The murder committed by Grenouille is a form of maladaptive behavior that
are at the highest level. Psychological disorder that he has makes him act beyond the limits of human fairness and common sense. His maladaptive behavior knows no
mercy, however, Grenouille runs murders by a very neat and structured.
The daughter of a carpenter was found slain in her own room on the fifth floor, and no one in the house had heard the laest
noise, and although the dogs normally yelped the moment they picked up the scent of any stranger, not one of them had
barked.
Süskind, 1986:197 Jean Baptiste Grenouille, a young man with a psychological disorder who
kills several women for the sake of his obssesion to feel loved. However, in the journey of realizing his obssesion, he eliminates the innocents and creates massive
fear in the society of Grasse.
... at the end of September, the slayer of the young women of Grasse, having cut down no fewer than twenty-four of its
most beautiful virgins out of every social class, was made anathema and excommunicated both in writing and from all
the pulpits of the city...
Süskind, 1986:198 Grenouille tracks down his last victim. A person with anti-social tendency is
someone who will not stop until he gets what he wants. This is the reason why an anti-social considered dangerous for a society in which the sufferer is located.
Because he may do something which can injure and even kill a person without feeling pity or guilt.
The sound of the blow was a dull, grinding thud. He hated it. He hated it solely because it was a sound, a sound in the
midst of his otherwise soundless procedure. He could bear that gruesome sound only by clenching his
teeth, ..........................................................................................
... for now even the shuffle of the girl’s breathing had ceased. Süskind, 1986:216
Grenouille reaches his goal, he creates ‘the ultimate scent’ from the young girls that he had been killed. He escapes the death penalty using that perfume.
Everyone see him as an angel. But eventhough he finally reaches his goal he feels empty as he realizes they are only fooled by the perfume, not because they loved him.
And with that, his maladaptive behavior ends one more life, his own.
CHAPTER V CONLUSION AND SUGGESTION
5.1. Conclusion
Kategori