The Perfumist of Paris

The Perfumist of Paris is the final installment of Alka Joshi’s Jaipur Trilogy, which explores the social context of postcolonial India through the lens of women’s experiences following the country’s independence from British rule. Joshi created the main character of the first two books in the trilogy, Radha’s sister Lakshmi, in part to correct the lack of agency and options her mother faced during the same period. In The Henna Artist, Joshi explores newly independent India’s struggles to assert its own identity and reclaim sovereignty as parallels to Lakshmi’s struggle to choose her own path and regain agency after fleeing her abusive marriage. Just as India reclaimed precolonial traditions to assert sovereignty, Lakshmi finds a way to exist independently and exert agency by reclaiming traditional herbal medicinal knowledge and developing her skills as a henna artist. However, while asserting her own independence, Lakshmi resorts to an authoritarian attitude toward those who stand in her way, much like the developing Indian government. In particular, Lakshmi must decide how to handle her 13-year-old sister Radha’s love affair and pregnancy; Lakshmi struggles to recognize others’ rights to choose their destinies.

In The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, Lakshmi learns to temper her own authoritarian tendencies and avoid the temptation of corruption as her business booms in the wake of India’s Gold Control Act.