Leech

During the course of reading the text i have tried to identify themes that recur throughout the narrative, one of these is the narrators comparison between protagonist and parasite. Something about the parasitic nature of Jean-Baptiste and the virginal purity of his victims led me to think of the William Blake poem the 'sick rose'

O Rose thou art sick.
The invisible worm,
That flies in the night
In the howling storm:

Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy:
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.

as well as having content that links subtly with the text, William Blake was also a print maker and illustrator from around the time that Perfume is set (the poem was written in 1789). I used the illustrations from songs of innocence and of experience for inspiration as well as continuing to look into forms of primitive drawing. The finished drawing of the leech surrounding the white flower is supposed to represent the predator and its prey, the white flower is symbolic of purity and virginity, and the leech is the parasite - Jean Baptiste.