The Perfumist of Paris

Lakshmi is the protagonist of the two other books in the Jaipur Trilogy. In this novel, she plays the role of confidante, mother figure, and cheerleader throughout Radha’s journey of rediscovery. She speaks in proverbs that highlight the wisdom her character represents. She is older and more restrained, and she also serves as Radha’s foil, exercising restraint and compassion when Radha behaves brashly and without attention to etiquette. Lakshmi’s past experiences of living with the courtesans of Agra and as a successful henna artist to the wealthy show in her polite manners during their visit with Havi and the perfume merchant. In contrast, Radha’s brusque French manners and Western misconceptions reduce the courtesan’s profession to sex work and mark her as an outsider.

Unlike Radha, Lakshmi does not have children of her own. Though she has always wished to help Radha, she has not always understood Radha’s experiences. A victim of domestic abuse in her early marriage, Lakshmi understands the need for female independence and support and provides both to Radha. However, her lack of understanding of the changes Radha’s identity and body underwent during her pregnancy led Lakshmi to overlook the hurt she caused her sister with her recommendation to give Niki to Kanta.

Havi and her sister Nasreen took Lakshmi in after she fled her abusive marriage, and they mentored her. Havi plays the role of the wise old woman when Radha visits Agra in search of the missing scent for the Olympia perfume. A shrewd businesswoman and keeper of dwindling cultural knowledge, Havi bristles at Radha’s disdain for her profession as a courtesan and resents that Radha’s judgments reduce her life’s work to exploitation and sex work. However, when Radha proves open-minded, Havi offers her aid in finding the mitti attar. She also offers comfort to Radha for the loss of Niki. Though Radha views her connection to Kanta as a painful reminder of her failure as a mother, Havi gently encourages her to consider her knowledge of his success as proof she did not fail him. Havi, too, has given up her sons for adoption, so she understands Radha’s pain.

Havi grew up in her mother’s kotha, where girls were celebrated for their ability to receive their mothers’ knowledge. As a result, Havi enjoys a fresh perspective on women and their value that counters the patriarchal views of women in both Indian and French societies of the time. She shares her perspectives with Radha by reframing the narratives Radha has heard about her profession, the Taj Mahal, and even the personal stories Radha has told her about her failure as a mother. By reframing the beauty of the Taj Mahal as a slight rather than an honor to Mumtaj Mahal’s memory, who died in childbirth with her 14th child, Havi helps Radha understand that there is more to every woman’s story than the labels for which they are known.

Enigmatic and close-lipped, Delphine is the House of Yves’s master perfumer. In addition to wearing high-end French fashion, she chain-smokes cigarettes, shares her judgments with few words, and keeps a close eye on her workers. Early in the novel, she is an unnerving presence, apparent as the smell of smoke, the sound of heels on tile, and the sensation of eyes as she moves in and out of the lab. Despite her cold exterior, Delphine is candid in her praise for Radha’s talent in private and becomes Radha’s professional mentor. Having already cemented her position in a male-dominated field, she advises Radha to never apologize when she is right. Delphine is ruthless but fair when she conspires to set Ferdinand up for failure after he sabotages and steals Radha’s Olympia formulation.

Since Delphine is characterized as aloof and calculating, she is initially a suspect when Radha is trying to figure out who is sabotaging her perfumes. Then, the novel subverts the trope of female rivals competing for space in a male-dominated field when she is not Radha’s saboteur. Instead, since Delphine remains confident and unwavering in her support for Radha’s talent, the story offers an alternative to pitting women against women and shows that professional success and advancement in traditionally male spaces come easier when women work together. Radha and Delphine’s alliance contrasts the story of Olympia’s model, Victorine Meurent, who sought her fortune in the male-dominated art world. She was maligned by high society for her willingness to model nude rather than celebrated for her talent and barrier-breaking successes that empowered other female artists.

Like Delphine, Florence first appears as an antagonist since she occupies the stereotypical role of the overbearing mother-in-law at the beginning of the novel. Florence is a Francophile who makes self-aggrandizing comments about the nutritional benefits of French cuisine when she must fill in for Radha as a cook. She also persistently offers to help Radha by picking up her girls from school or using her connections to get a nanny despite Radha’s desire to handle the tasks herself. Radha mistakes Florence’s self-assured French identity and entreaties to help as passive-aggressive slights against her own Indian culture and her abilities to mother; she also fears that Florence is trying to steal her daughters’ affection. Radha admits her mistaken impressions of Florence later in the novel, elevating Florence from a static stereotype to a deep and sympathetic character.

Florence conceived Pierre out of wedlock and passed her husband off as his father. Unable to marry Pierre’s biological father, she smothered Pierre to ease her heartache, and she eventually drove him away to boarding school in India. After unsuccessfully attempting to meet the expectations of the men in her life, Florence lost them all and ended up alone. Without a professional identity to fall back on, Florence is lonely, jealous of Radha’s rich life, and hurt that the family will not accept the help she offers. Florence understands and supports Radha’s need for professional fulfillment; her support gives Radha the courage to chase her desire to be a mother and a successful professional.

Mathilde and Sheela serve dual roles as both friends and romantic rivals in Radha’s life. Beautiful and worldly, Mathilde is Radha’s best friend from her school days. To Radha, she represents the perfect French woman, and Radha is slightly jealous of Florence’s affection for her. Like Radha, whose mother is dead, Mathilde’s neglectful mother left her feeling similarly motherless and uncared for, and the two bonded over their shared sense of loss. Ironically, as an adult, Mathilde serves as her mother’s primary caregiver since she has dementia; this is a role Mathilde resents. Upset with Radha’s family and career monopolizing her time and hurt that Radha has never told her about Niki, Mathilde eventually acts on her resentment and sleeps with Pierre, transforming from the role of best friend to romantic rival.

Sheela plays an antagonistic role in Radha’s early life as a bully and romantic rival for the affections of Ravi Singh. Light-skinned, upper-class, and beautiful, Sheela tormented Radha and eventually married Ravi Singh. She appears in The Perfumist of Paris first as a beautiful but unhappily married anonymous customer. Radha helps her find a scent to keep her husband from engaging in extramarital affairs. Radha does not recognize her, but when Sheela reveals that she is the client who requested the Olympia fragrance, Radha finds herself drawn to Sheela because of the shared shame and rejection they suffered over their involvement with Ravi Singh. Like her friendship with Mathilde that grew from shared loss, her new friendship with an old rival grows out of mutual understanding and need for support.

The role reversal of each of these characters offers insight into the necessity of female solidarity. Though Radha might easily blame Mathilde for her failed marriage, Radha reacts to her friend’s betrayal with compassion, and Radha is outraged when Pierre implies Mathilde’s promiscuity is to blame for their tryst. Radha refuses to view Mathilde as a rival, subverting the patriarchal trope of women as romantic rivals. She recognizes that Mathilde has supported her in the past and considers her inability to ease Mathilde’s heartache when determining her reactions. Similarly, Radha and Sheela move past the flat character designation as rivals when they agree to ally. Rather than burning each other down, these characters become more dynamic when they ally in mutual understanding and solidarity.