A whiff of nothing: The atmospheric absence of smell

This article uses the figure of “presence
of absence” to consider the phenomenological
significance of dimensions of smell that easily slip
out of apprehension. The discussion highlights how
not only loud smell but also absence of smell manages
to exert an influence over the way people feel.
Smells linked to emotions and bodily sensations
are addressed as atmospheric, and facets of an
atmospheric absence of smell are unfurled within the
framework of “the smell of the hospital.” The case
demonstrates how the atmospheric presence of
absence of smell becomes of significance in the hospital
as it is acted and reacted upon as a sense of (1)
longing, (2) avoidance, (3) care and (4) cleanliness.