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April 10-16 is National Library Week and Michelyn Camen suggested that since we both share a love of literature and perfume, that my debut article with Cafleurebon would be not only about where and how fragrance appears in literature, but our mutual addiction to science fiction; specifically to Robert A. Heinlein’s classic and cult 1961 novel Stranger in a Strange Land.

I was both a perfumista and a science fiction fan as far back as elementary school. As a teenager the contrast between a mostly female preoccupation with beauty products and a mostly male one with science fiction and fantasy made me feel like I was simultaneously exploring two separate universes. I have therefore never forgotten the thrill of seeing the two come together in Robert A. Heinlein’s classic and cult 1961 novel Stranger in a Strange Land.

The book’s hero, Mike, aka the Man from Mars, is a human born on Mars to astronauts from Earth and reared from babyhood by Martians after the death of his parents and their fellow crew members. He is brought to Earth as a young man by a later space mission. Once here he finds himself in an alien culture that lays claim on him as a human being. He also lands in a political quagmire whose intricacies are not apparent to him. Mike often seems a total innocent yet, while inexperienced in the life of terran civilization; at the same time he is wise in ways that other people cannot comprehend. He often groks (literally: drinks; it means to understand deeply. The term was coined by Heinlein in this work) much more than others realize. His Martian upbringing has given him perceptions and abilities far beyond human capabilities.

Even with the astonishing cultural gap, Mike forges relationships with others on Earth and wishes to please them. Some become his Water Brothers, bound by a Martian ritual. At a certain point in the story Mike decides to buy gifts for Jubal and his staff, a group who have taken him in, protected him and taught him about the local planetary culture. He asks Anne for help in choosing a gift for Jill:

“Anne selected one which puzzled him – Jill already smelled the way Jill should smell.

When the present arrived, its size and apparent unimportance added to his misgivings – and when Anne had him whiff it before giving it to Jill, Mike was more in doubt than ever; the odor was very strong and not at all like Jill…

When she wore it at dinner that night, he discovered that in some unclear fashion it made Jill smell more deliciously Jill than ever. Still stranger, it caused Dorcas to kiss him and whisper ‘Mike hon… the negligee is just lovely – but perhaps someday you’ll give me perfume?

Mike could not grok why Dorcas would want it; Dorcas did not smell like Jill, so perfume would not be proper for her… not would he want Dorcas to smell like Jill; he wanted Dorcas to smell like Dorcas.

Jubal interrupted: ‘Quit nuzzling the lad and let him eat! Dorcas, you reek like a Marseilles cat house; don’t wheedle Mike for more stinkum.’

‘Boss, mind your own business.’

It was puzzling – that Jill could smell still more like Jill… but Dorcas should wish to smell like Jill when she smelled like herself… that Jubal would say that Dorcas smelled like a cat. There was a cat on the place…

The cat did not smell like Dorcas.”

I love how Heinlein uses the experience of perfume to capture and illustrate so much about Mike’s perceptions and character: his careful observation and attention to his novel sensory experiences, his utter honesty and (at first) literal understandings, and his ability to wonder at and about all that he encounters. I think that Heinlein describes perfectly the magic of perfume from this vantage point: how it can enhance a person’s essence in a way that is true to that essence, even while it is a unique scent creation.

The book is dated in a number of ways, including in its treatment of women. But as a satire of the mores of its time it is still a hoot or, perhaps more appropriately, a great romp. In the book Martians do reproduce but they have no gender and are fairly cerebral, especially as they evolve, and so the dynamics of sexual relationships are a complete surprise to Mike. As you might imagine, once he catches on to the way things work he manages to grok it all with great aplomb – and delight. He subsequently turns human social practices upside down. In this passage, in which he is not unpleasantly befuddled, we see him, through the experience of perfume and the stimulation of his senses, glimpse the way human attraction and relationships work on a whole new level. It heralds Mike’s greater ability to interact as a human; predictably, sexual awakening is not far off.

Even as he evolves as a human Mike retains a Martian sensitivity to the beauty of aging and of individual uniqueness, as illustrated by his awareness of Jubal’s love for the statues of Rodin. The aging and cynical Jubal surrounds himself with beautiful young women for shallow pleasure and to keep the depression of aging at bay. In befriending and adopting Mike, who finds him most beautiful, he rediscovers a reverence for life and love. Mike likewise loves his Water Brothers for who they are: Jill is beautiful to him for her physical beauty but more so for her kindness and caring. That is why he is thrilled that his gift of fragrance enhances her essence and identity.

Do you have a favorite book? Does it a evoke a perfume? Please share it with us in your comments!

–Leah Strigler, Contributor

Editor's Note: I always imagined that Mike gave Jill a perfume scented with Jasmin Sambac…a heady scented flower and nature's answer to mood enhancers. Makila by Jean Patou was created the year the novel debuted in 1961, with few chemicals or preservatives; also known as sampaguita, this flower must be harvested at night, adding to its 'strangeness'

In may cultures they are used as garlands to welcome important guests or as religious offerings.