A NOSE FOR MEMORY
Of all the senses, smell is the most powerfully linked one to memory. Perhaps it’s because part of the faculty for this sense occupies a space that’s considered to be the oldest or most primal region of the brain?
Certainly, our oldest memories, particularly those of childhood, seem to be most easily triggered by the smells they are linked to ⎯ from the subtle and sublime scent of a mother’s embrace (as ubiquitous as it is unique), to the delicious and delightful aroma of a freshly baked pie (a sort of archetypical smell of childhood in Western societies).
For the most part, the smells of childhood are created outside of our control. But at some point in our development, we shift from being passive receptors of smells, and become more actively involved in creating and choosing them. In this respect, through the use of smell, we become what might be called “memory makers”; some of us more consciously so than others.
I’m watching this take place right now with my teenage daughter. She’s taken it upon herself to change the brand of laundry detergent that we’ve been using in our home for many years. Interestingly, the first articles that she’s chosen for receiving this new scent are her bed sheets, pillowcases and comforter cover. (A space that’s begging to be explored.) Changing the laundry detergent seems to be an attempt on her part to use smell to mark a “space” that’s a departure from the past, as well as an arrival of a memory now set for the future.
What memories have you made lately? Or rather, smelled anything good lately?
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My mother used to wear Diorissimo and Miss Dior. It would bring back memories of all the trips she made to Europe, and of a doll she brought me back when I as a little girl. She also assumed that there's no one who doesn't like perfume and she'd spray the scent onto me.
As I grew up, I developed (or rather became aware of) a keener sense of smell than I wanted to have. Nothing is so much a curse and a blessing as having a Keen Sense of Smell. In other words, I began to find her perfume far too overpowering - despite loving it, I hated it.
Today, I have created a world of no fragrance around me; scent-free laundry detergent, scent-free almost everything. Still, I smell so many smells. I love the natural fragrance that my body has - if I may say so myself.
But strangely, I also love the smell of skunk. Isn't that a bit of a contradiction?
I think people who wear a scent - whether it's the perfume that whispers springtime or the unwanted scent of the unbathed variety - take up more physical space in this world. Their "aura" extends many layers beyond their physical body, and almost touches you.
Scent, or smell, has a palpable, physical quality to it. It is tactile, it is tangible, it literally touches your olfactory receptors.
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