The Perfumist of Paris

The denouement of the novel focuses on the characters who have chosen Women’s Solidarity as a Means of Empowerment. After the difficult work of integrating her professional, domestic, and social identities, Radha is more confident and grounded the next time she visits Havi and Nasreen in Agra. Returning to the mentor who helped her understand that there is liberation and empowerment when women support one another, Radha realizes that she, too, has had a lasting impact on the women of Agra in her own way. Her gradual understanding of the kotha as a place of feminine empowerment and escape from child marriage and motherhood rather than a place of shame has changed her thinking, but she discovers that her Western ideas of liberation through vocational opportunities for women have also inspired Havi. Rather than remaining close-minded, the solidarity between Radha and Havi has led to a cultural exchange that empowers both women and their charges.

Since Radha and Havi chose to work together, both women have achieved professional success for themselves and those around them. From Havi, Radha has learned the benefit of trusting her instincts and desires, and from Radha, Havi has realized she can empower many more women through the business she runs that has traditionally relied on male laborers. The notoriety Havi receives for her perfumery through association with the House of Yves is possible only because the quality of her attars outshines others on the market. Further, though Radha’s marriage has failed, she is not lost because she has her career and relationships to lean on while she heals. When speaking of the fragrant jasmine flowers, Lakshmi reminds her that the “flowers release their most powerful scent after the sun sets. One chapter of your life is setting, and you are becoming your most powerful self” (320). This sentiment of support and hope from her sister eases the burden of Radha’s heartache.

Similarly, Radha, Sheela, and Delphine’s reputations and careers have gone farther than they could have imagined because of the trust they put in each other’s talents and visions. Also, they choose to ally with each other’s strengths rather than viewing one other as competition, as women are often conditioned to do. Rather than using their talents and influence to undercut each other and advance as individuals, as Ferdinand tried to do, they all benefit from the talents and reputations of their allies. Their shared work is a success, and as a result, Sheela and her daughters become financially independent and escape the negative influence of Ravi and the Singh family, who do not value them because they are women. Like the girls of Agra whose options Havi has increased, the helping hand of powerful women in Paris empowers Sheela to stand against patriarchal tradition and give her girls more options than they would ever have by living under the influence of the Singhs. After Radha’s divorce, Delphine supports her by finding her housing and encouraging her career, and Radha grows professionally, taking Delphine’s advice to stay focused on her work because she knows her work “will live longer than [her] heartache” (306). Radha’s work brings great success to the company, and Delphine is able to retire with ease, knowing that the House of Yves will continue its success with Radha succeeding her as master perfumer.

Even Radha’s domestic sphere thrives with her newfound support from her women friends and allies. In a gesture of good faith, Florence offers her apartment as a permanent residence for her granddaughters, and she invites both Radha and Pierre to spend alternate weeks there. In addition to subverting the stereotypical, competitive relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, Florence recognizes the benefit of stability for the girls. By putting their needs first, her own loneliness and feelings of ineffectiveness disappear. Unlike Pierre, who once forced Radha to choose between him and Delphine, Florence does not make her granddaughters choose between her and Radha. As a result, the girls are freer to explore their dual cultural identities without the double bind of choosing one cultural identity and losing the other.

Florence’s involvement in Niki’s French education and her offer to let him lodge in her house is a double win for Radha in the domestic sphere, as she can finally fulfill her role as Niki’s birth mother. Radha is now confident and secure enough to share that role with Kanta. Though Mathilde never accepts her offer to move past the tryst with Pierre, Radha gains a friend in Sheela and rekindles her friendship with Kanta. Because of her solidarity with the women in her life, Radha gains family, control over her own destiny, and freedom from the feelings of subordination and competition that left her insecure and unfulfilled. Unburdened of secrets and negative competition, Radha’s life opens to more possibilities than she could ever have imagined, and she works to extend her power to others.