Narrator: For the first time in his life, Grenouille realized that he had no smell of his own. He realized that all his life he had been a nobody to everyone. What he now felt was the fear of his own oblivion. It was as though he did not exist.
[last lines]
Narrator: Within no time, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille had disappeared from the face of the earth. When they had finished, they felt a virginal glow of happiness. For the first time in their lives, they believed they had done something purely out of love.
Giuseppe Baldini: Talent means next to nothing, while experience acquired in humility and hard work means everything.
Antoine Richis: [to his daughter] Whatever his insane scheme is... it will surely be incomplete without you
Narrator: Thus... the first sound to escape Grenouille's lips sent his mother to the gallows.
Narrator: When Jean-Baptiste did finally learn to speak he soon found that everyday language proved inadequate for all the olfactory experiences accumulating within himself.
Antoine Richis: Forgive me... my son.
Executioner: He's innocent!
Jean-Baptiste Grenouille: What's a legend?
Antoine Richis: [to his daughter] Last night I dreamt you were dead.
Councillor 3: This man is a demon! A phantom, who cannot be fought by human means! Now I insist that we call upon our Bishop to excommunicate him!
Antoine Richis: What good would that do?
Councillor 1: [horrified] Have you no faith in the power of our holy mother Church?
[Cut to a nun being murdered]
Various: He's an angel!
Giuseppe Baldini: Because it's a legend, you numbskull.
