The Lily of the Valley, or Love as Breathing in the Scent.

The article explores the perception of odors and role of breathing in romantic relationships and the association between love and perfumes as depicted in the novel "The Lily of the Valley" by Honoré de Balzac. It discusses the perfume and the women's scent as a trigger of love, olfactory dimension of the lily, woman equated to perfume and ways of loving as ways of breathing, and breathing as an expression of love, its caresses and wounds.