Baldini’s House

By Natasha and Komal

Setting

• ‘The bridge was so crammed with four-storey buildings that you could not glimpse the river when crossing it’

• ‘Above his display window was stretched a sumptuous green-lacquered baldachin , next to which hung Baldini’s coat of arms all in gold: a golden falcon which grew a bouquet of flowers’

• ‘…lay a red carpet, also bearing the Baldini coat of arms embroidered in gold’

• ‘Persian chimes rang out, and two silver herons began spewing violet-scented toilet water’

• ‘An indescribable chaos of odours reigned the house of Baldini’

Why/how does Grenouille find himself in this setting? Does he choose to be

there, or not?Grenouille- “I’m from Maitre Grimal, I’m

delivering the goatskins” “Grenouille burned to see a perfumery

from the inside”Grenouille-“I want to work for you, Maitre

Baldini. Work for you, here in your business.”

“It was not spoken as a request, but as a demand”

How long is he there?

• “…just a little under 3 years”• “ Early in 1756”

What major experiences does he have there?

• Grenouille makes Amor & Psyche for Baldini - “And he pressed the handkerchief to his nose again and again and sniffed and shook his head and muttered ‘incredible’. It was “Amore and Psyche.”

• Grenouille bought by Baldini – “ And then he invted Grimal to his concerning the purchase of Grenouille, his apprentice.”

• Grimal dies – “ he was brought by ill fortune to the Quai des Ormes, where he splashed lengthwise and face-first into the water like a soft mattress. He was dead in an instant”

What major experiences does he have (continuation)

• Baldini’s business thrives and he learns from Grenouille- “ And for that it was necessary that he- assisted only by an unskilled helper– would be solely and exclusively responsible for the production of scent”

•

What causes him to leave?

• ‘There was three other ways my son: enfleurage à chaud, enfleurage à froid, and enfleurage à l’huile’ ‘Where?’ asked Grenouille‘In the south,’ answered Baldini. ‘Above all, in the town of Grasse’‘Good’ said Grenouille

- His want to explore different techniques to extract scent from its source. He leaves to discover how to use these techniques.

How does setting affect, mould or change him? What does it give him?

• ‘Two indispensible prerequisites must be met. The first was the cloak of middle-class respectability, the status of a journeyman at least, under the protection of which he could indulge his true passions and follow his true goals unimpeded.’

- Affects him by making his passions of creating the perfect scent more attainable – makes him more driven.

What does he learn from the setting when he moves on?

• The learns the art of perfume making • ‘And so he gladly let himself be instructed in the arts of

making soap from lard, swing gloves of chamois, mixing powders…etc’

• The structured steps to making perfume• Most importantly he learns one way of gaining the scent of

something – by distillation. • Learns that there are three other ways to gain scent – and

that these techniques are practiced in Grasse.

Overall Significance

The overall significance of the setting is to show how Grenouille develops to become a better perfumer. While his raw gift of sense of smell is unchanged – as Baldini’s sense could not possible teach Grenouille something different, he becomes aware of the skill and art that is the perfumer and he learns techniques which help to enhance his talent of mixing smells together to create a perfume,