Poirot: As a metaphor for ‘outcasts’, it seems a shame to choose someone so degraded. Most outcasts are presentable, and only in that state due to circumstances beyond their control—frequently religious intolerance.

Lexi asks: ..."What does God look like?"
Which god are you talking about? Humans have apparently worshipped over 20,000 gods in recorded history, all of which demonstrated human fallibilities and desires. To a doubter, such questions have no meaning.
This is a good one:- "Do the vast majority of modern mainstream - Christians, Jews, and Muslims seek a better life on earth, rather than seeking it in heaven?"
If they do, then they’re only playing at religion, because the dogmas of all three are explicit in their assertions that this life is merely a stopover in which humans are tested to see if they’re good enough to be granted eternal life, and the more slings and arrows that come your way, the more chance you have of sitting down to sup with your god.
You also ask:-
“How are we ever going to solve threats to all of humanity (and the planet) by climate change, over population and other serious environmental problems, if we can't leave our fellows to safely practice their own religion?”
As this life is [according to the big three religions] irrelevant, then the problems you mention don’t matter. And there can never be harmony between them because all are monotheistic. When you’ve only the one god who is perfect, then you have to persecute all usurpers, otherwise you’re accepting that your god isn’t perfect. Religions with lots of gods don’t have that problem.

@Bonmot: “...perhaps smell is in the nose of the beholder.”
Good one. Certainly how individuals appreciate the smell is personal

ybgirp,

I think Grenouille was mindful of his otherness. On his way to his ultimate concoction of scent, he experimented with another which he found made him feel as if he was part of the great throng of humanity. He was aware that he wasn't like them - even that he despised them - but was amazed that 'they' seemed to accept him as one of 'them'. At a street parade he joined in, even holding a child aloft to see the spectacle passing in front. The fact that he used this invented scent to camouflage his otherness and blend in points to the fact that he was outcast from the natural affinities of the humanity around him - circumstances beyond his control?

Poirot: "...he was outcast from the natural affinities of the humanity around him - circumstances beyond his control?"
Yes, I think so. We are born with our characters pretty much intact, which accounts for the enormous diversity of human nature. And try as we will, we end up being 'true to ourselves', be that a social recluse or irritating busybody. His perfume of social acceptance is a metaphor for the efforts people make to 'fit in' to be 'accepted' but these efforts seldom last, and they drift back to their old ways, always hoping to find someone of like mind.

Life's but a metaphor Poirot, even on Sundays (imho :)

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ybgirp: you raise a 'smelly' concept so not entirely off topic.

>> We are born with our characters pretty much intact, which accounts for the enormous diversity of human nature. <<

Perhaps I read you wrong, but I would have thought our 'life experience' pretty much 'shapes' our character (and our senses) - you know, the ye olde 'nature - nurture' debate?

bonmot... "Perhaps I read you wrong, but I would have thought our 'life experience' pretty much 'shapes' our character (and our senses) - you know, the ye olde 'nature - nurture' debate?"
Only last night there was a piece about the sons and daughters of a dozen different mothers all of whom had been artificially inseminated with the sperm of the same bloke. All the kids grew up not knowing each other or their father, yet now as young adults they finally met and discovered to their amazement that they shared a wide variety of character similarities as well as bodily and facial features, interests and personal idiosyncrasies.
All the children in a family are brought up in a similar environment and nurtured similarly, but usually differ in character so markedly that, unless there's a strong physical resemblance, strangers don't realise they're siblings. In my own case, one of four, there is nothing in my character, interests, abilities... that's similar to my siblings. I reckon that pretty well places nature streets ahead of nurture, which, in my opinion, merely fine-tunes inherent abilities and inclinations.

bonmot and ybgirp.

It's always an interesting question. I don't know that nature is "streets ahead" of nurture. ybgirp, you seem to saying on the one hand that those estranged siblings who had the same father had quite a few similarities - meaning that nature had a strong influence...and yet you mention that your own siblings differ markedly from yourself, meaning that nature apparently did not have much impact in your characters - and nor did nurture.

My own experience in that area is a trite confusing. I met a half-sister ten years ago for the first time. Her father was Nordic, whereas mine was American of indigenous Indian decent. So our looks are quite different. I can glean certain similarities, and perhaps we'll find more when we get longer opportunities to spend time together (she's in NSW and I'm in WA). We both are quite good at visual art, but her style is markedly different to mine - I'm a good draughtsman with limited aptitude for composition and she is a less of a draughtsman but is a wonderful stylist who draws and paints in a totally different manner and who seems to glide into strong composition almost without trying. My adult daughter is also one who draws and is a keen photographer - and again seems to have an eye for colour and composition.
And I can also glean certain psychological dispositions that are shared, but in differing degrees, between my sister, myself, our mother (whom I never met but have been told about) and my daughter.
However, it does seem to me that life experience does have an immense impact in honing and shaping the character we inherit.