Spoiler warning: this post explains the full ending of Perfume. If you have not finished the book, stop here and come back later.
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Quick answer: Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a murderer with a superhuman sense of smell, creates a perfume from the scents of murdered young women that makes everyone adore him, saving him from execution. Disgusted that no one can love the real him, he returns to Paris, pours the perfume over himself in a crowd of outcasts and is torn apart and eaten in a frenzy of love.
Quick facts
– Book: Perfume by Patrick Süskind
– First published: 1985
– Type: A literary thriller
– Tone of the ending: Grotesque and darkly ironic
Table of Contents
What Leads Up to the Ending
Grenouille is born in a stinking Paris fish market in 1738 and has no scent of his own. He becomes an apprentice perfumer and learns distillation. He kills a girl to capture her smell, then retreats to a mountain cave for seven years. In Grasse, he learns enfleurage and murders twenty-five young women to steal their scent.
What Happens at the End of Perfume
Laure's protective father, Antoine Richis, flees with her, but Grenouille follows her scent, kills her in an inn and takes her smell to complete his perfume. He is arrested and sentenced to a brutal public execution. On the day, he wears the finished perfume, and the crowd of ten thousand falls into a frenzy of love, convinced he is innocent; even Richis embraces him as a son. Grenouille is freed, but he feels only disgust: people love the scent, not him, and he still cannot smell himself. He walks back to Paris and goes to an old cemetery in the city, where outcasts gather at night. He pours the whole bottle over his head. Overwhelmed by desire, the crowd tears him apart and eats him, then feels strangely proud of having acted out of love.
The Ending in 4 Quick Points
- The perfume makes him adored.
- He escapes execution.
- He chooses to die.
- The crowd devours him.
What Happens to the Main Characters
| Character | What happens to them |
|---|---|
| Jean-Baptiste Grenouille | Eaten by a crowd |
| Laure Richis | Final victim |
| Antoine Richis | Laure's father |
| Baldini | The perfumer |
What the Ending Means
The ending shows the emptiness of power and adoration.
Other Ways to Read the Ending
Readers see the novel as a satire of the Enlightenment's faith in reason and of the cult of the artistic genius. Others read Grenouille as a portrait of a person with no identity who tries to manufacture one.
Themes the Ending Brings Together
Identity. Grenouille has no scent.
Power. Scent controls people.
Love. He cannot be loved for himself.
Is the Ending Happy or Sad?
Most readers describe the ending of Perfume as grotesque and darkly ironic. How you feel about it usually depends on what you hoped for the characters and what you expected Patrick Süskind to do with the story, so it is worth asking friends how they felt before you compare notes.
Who Will Like This Ending
Readers who enjoy endings that are grotesque and darkly ironic will find a lot to talk about here. If you prefer every thread tied up neatly, it helps to know in advance how Patrick Süskind closes the story, which is exactly why many readers look it up. Either way, the final chapters reward a second look once you know where everything is heading, because small details from the middle of the book start to matter. If you are reading with a group, agree beforehand whether everyone has finished, so nobody has the last chapters spoiled.
Book Versus Adaptation
The 2006 film follows the ending closely.
Discussion Questions About the Ending
If you are reading Perfume with a book club or a friend, these questions work well once everyone has finished:
- Did the ending surprise you, or had you seen it coming from the first chapters?
- What does the final scene say about identity, and do you agree with Patrick Süskind's view?
- Which character made the most important choice in the last part of the book, and was it the right one?
- How would the story feel if it had ended one chapter earlier or one chapter later?
- Does the ending leave you hopeful about the characters, or do you worry about what comes next?
- Would you describe the ending as grotesque and darkly ironic, or would you choose a different word?
How to Read the Final Chapters Again
- Compare the opening with the close. Look at how the first chapter introduces identity and how the ending answers it.
- Track each final choice. The table above shows where every main character ends up, so ask which of those outcomes was earned.
- Notice what Patrick Süskind leaves unsaid. Gaps in the last pages are often deliberate, and they are where most of the debate about the ending begins.
- Listen for echoes. Images, phrases or settings from earlier in Perfume often return in the final scene with a new meaning.
Questions to Ask Yourself After Finishing
- Was the ending of Perfume earned by what came before it, or did it feel sudden?
- Which character's final moment affected you most, and why?
- If you could change one thing about the last chapters, what would it be?
- Did the ending change how you think about the opening pages?
Check price of Perfume on Amazon
Books to Read After Perfume
- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Related: Perfume by Patrick Suskind: Summary and Key Takeaways
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens at the end of Perfume?
Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a murderer with a superhuman sense of smell, creates a perfume from the scents of murdered young women that makes everyone adore him, saving him from execution. Disgusted that no one can love the real him, he returns to Paris, pours the perfume over himself in a crowd of outcasts and is torn apart and eaten in a frenzy of love.
Is the ending of Perfume happy or sad?
Most readers call it grotesque and darkly ironic.
What does the ending of Perfume mean?
The ending shows the emptiness of power and adoration.
Is the ending of Perfume the same in the adaptation?
The 2006 film follows the ending closely.
Who wrote Perfume and when was it published?
Perfume was written by Patrick Süskind and first published in 1985.
Is Perfume worth reading if I already know the ending?
Yes, especially if you enjoy literary thrillers. Knowing the ending can make a first read richer, because you notice how Patrick Süskind prepares for it from the opening chapters.
Should I read Perfume before reading the ending explained?
Yes, if you plan to read it, because this post gives away the whole ending.