The Perfumist of Paris

Content Warning: This section of the guide refers to the source text’s treatment of domestic abuse.

Radha is the protagonist and first-person narrator of The Perfumist of Paris. The novel intimately explores Radha’s internal and external conflicts. In The Henna Artist, Radha is characterized as a stubborn and passion-driven teenager who struggles to admit her pregnancy is more than she can handle. At the beginning of this novel, however, Radha has matured and mellowed in her role as mother, wife, and apprentice perfumist. She is ambitious and aspires to advance to master perfumist at the prestigious House of Yves, despite her husband, Pierre, disapproving of her working away from the home. Radha’s passion for perfume sustains and excites her, and she devotes more time and attention to her work than her male colleagues. As a mother, Radha is supportive and understanding, handling her daughter’s emotional outbursts with compassion and sharing the joys of their Indian heritage with her girls by reading them Tales of Krishna, coaching them in Hindi, and teaching them to appreciate their skin tone despite bullying at school.

Radha’s strong demeanor, decisive actions, and natural instincts contrast with her self-doubting internal