In "A Scandal in Bohemia," Doyle presents Irene as a mysterious character who is very different from other women:
To Sherlock Holmes, she is always the woman…In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex.
This quote also suggests that she exerts a powerful influence over the men in her life and this power derives from a combination of her wit and beauty. The King of Bohemia, for example, says that "she has the face of the most beautiful of women," while Sherlock calls her "the daintiest thing under a bonnet." But her wit is, perhaps, her most striking feature because she is able to outwit both the King of Bohemia and Sherlock himself. In a clever twist, she uses some of Sherlock's own methods to achieve this, notably the use of disguise, as we learn from her letter:
But, you know, I have been trained as an actress myself. Male costume is nothing new to me. I often take advantage of the freedom which it gives.
Part of Irene's appeal is her ability to act outside the boundaries of accepted gender roles. On the surface, she acts like any other woman, as Sherlock comments:
She lives quietly, sings at concerts, drives out at five every day, and returns at seven sharp for dinner.
But, below this ordinary exterior lies a power which makes Sherlock completely rethink his ideas about women, as Watson comments in the closing lines:
He used to make merry over the cleverness of women, but I have not heard him do it of late.
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