Abstract:
In philosophy, the concept of animalism is about personal identity which explains that
humans are animals by nature as they succumb to their instincts. This research aims to
present the significance of animal metaphors depicted in 19th century French literature and in
20th century German literature by examining the protagonists: Thérèse in the French novel of
Émile Zola‘s Thérèse Raquin (1867) and Grenouille of John E Woods‘s English translation
of the German novel Perfume: The story of a murderer (1985) by Patrick Suskind. This paper
argues whether Thérèse and Grenouille are presented as animals. It explores whether animal
metaphors that are associated with the protagonists by the two authors depict a lack of
spirituality and intellectuality. Specifically, by comparing the animalistic traits such as the
internal instincts of lust, violence and aggression of the protagonists. A qualitative analysis of
data is done by using comparative methodology. This study compares the protagonists of
Zola‘s and Suskind‘s novels to animals. In the preface to the second edition of Thérèse
Raquin Zola states that his characters are human animals dominated by their instincts as they
are steered into every action of their lives involuntarily. In Perfume, Suskind introduces
Grenouille as "a strange, cold creature‖ and ―a hostile animal‖, as the narrator questions
―were he not a man by nature prudent" (p. 17). The key finding of this research reveals that
the animal metaphors are used by Zola and Suskind to signify the moral degradation of the
protagonists.
