# The Perfume Experiment explained — Against the Grain > Chapter companion for Against the Grain by J.-K. Huysmans. ## What happens Des Esseintes experiences a temporary recovery from his nervous malady, only to be plagued by hallucinations of the smell of frangipane. In an attempt to cure himself through olfactory homeopathy, he immerses himself in the art of perfumery, analyzing and creating complex scents. He reflects on the history and grammar of perfumery, comparing it to literature and other arts, and ultimately creates a synthetic landscape of odors to overpower the persistent frangipane. ## Themes in this chapter ### Artifice vs. Nature Des Esseintes argues that artificial perfumes surpass natural scents, as they allow the artist to 'complete and consummate' nature, much like a jeweler enhances a gem. ### Aestheticism and Sensuality The chapter delves into the sensory pleasures of smell, treating perfumery as a high art form that provides intellectual and sensual gratification. ### Illness and Neurosis Des Esseintes' olfactory hallucinations are a manifestation of his nervous disorder, driving his obsessive experimentation with perfumes. ## Character check-ins ### Des Esseintes Awakens feeling well but soon suffers olfactory hallucinations; engages in a detailed experiment with perfumes to cure himself. ### the servant Called by Des Esseintes to verify the smell of frangipane, but declares he notices nothing. ### Honoré de Balzac Mentioned as an author who felt an imperious craving to write to get his hand in, paralleling Des Esseintes' need to practice perfumery. ### Charles Baudelaire Referenced for his poetic metrical schemes in 'l'Irreparable' and 'le Balcon', which Des Esseintes compares to harmonies in perfumery. ### Victor Hugo Mentioned as an influence on perfumery's Romantic turn toward Oriental essences. ## Key lines > In the course of that singular malady which plays such havoc with races of exhausted vitality, sudden intervals of calm succeed the crises. His nervous illness, which afflicts those of weakened lineage, is marked by brief periods of peace after severe episodes. _Describes the pattern of Des Esseintes' condition._ > He held that the sense of smell was qualified to experience pleasures equal to those pertaining to the ear and the eye, each of the five senses being capable, by dint of a natural aptitude supplemented by an erudite education, of receiving novel impressions, magnifying these tenfold, coordinating them, combining them into the whole that constitutes a work of art. He believed smell could provide as much pleasure as sight or hearing, and that all senses could be trained to perceive and create art. _Des Esseintes' philosophy of sensory aesthetics._ > In perfumery the artist completes and consummates the original natural odour, which he cuts, so to speak, and mounts as a jeweller improves and brings out the water of a precious stone. The perfumer perfects natural scents, refining them like a jeweler enhances a gem. _Highlights the theme of artifice over nature._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/chapters/x - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/against_the_grain_se/chapters