movie!Irene vs book!Irene
This was written in response to a request to justify there being enough difference between book!Irene and movie!Irene to allow them both to be played at a game. I figured I'd post it here for my own reference and anyone else interested.
Irene appears in only one story in Holmes canon, called "A Scandal in Bohemia." It's a signature story not only in the fact that it's the first in the collection of "the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" but also because it is Irene's story, and even in her singular appearance she has become an iconic aspect of the canon. Interestingly enough, and something that end up serving extensions of the canon such as the film, Irene never actively appears in the story. Due to the nature of the way Holmes is written (through Watson's eyes), and the fact that Watson is also not actively present in much of the Bohemia case, Irene is portrayed only through Holmes' retelling of events and it leaves a fair amount of room for interpretation as to who she actually is. However, I feel that I can still build an argument based on the fact that that the movie exhibits a distinctly different character than the story necessarily intended.
I think it's probably best to work this as a comparison between the Irenes (and I'm actually watching the movie as I write this so that I can key on specific examples that will hopefully serve in illustrating my point of view.). Movie!Irene is introduced as a world class criminal, and she and Holmes already share a advanced history, one that is even implied as intimate. She's on the run from the law and working for Moriarty. These are huge differences in terms of her history, to me, when compared to book!Irene. In the story, Irene is never once referred to as a criminal; as a matter of fact, she seems quite the opposite, living what is referred to as a "quiet" life in London during her retirement. She used to be an opera singer (a fact I do not recall being mentioned in the film) and it was during her time working in Warsaw that she entered into an affair with the King of Bohemia.
Although the story itself scandalizes not only Irene but also the King, and puts her in a questionable position as she had threatened to blackmail him to prevent him from marrying another woman, it carries a completely different air than the movie surrounded Irene with. Movie!Irene is very driven in terms of furthering herself as a thief, and her inability to stay in one place (or remain married) caters to that. Book!Irene's motives, however, are never completely revealed in terms of why she has threatened blackmail, beyond the King's admission that she will go to any length to stop him from marrying another woman and thus the implication being that she is heart broken and bitter. While the movie illustrates a clever con-woman, the story concentrates more on a scorned woman, eager to prove her worth by overpowering a king.
The twist is, of course, that Irene herself ends up being married to a man named Norton Godfrey, and thus allows the King the freedom to marry his own bride, telling Holmes that he may do so because "{Irene} loves and {is} loved by a better man than he." Movie!Irene is characterized almost to the point of being a man-eater, as Holmes observes she is "between husbands," whereas book!Irene is characterized more as a scorned woman who desperately wished to find someone to love her properly, and by succeeding, found the peace she needed to move on from her previous relationship.
That is not to say, however, that book!Irene is less fierce than movie!Irene, but I feel that that power is channeled in ways that differ the two fundamentally. Book!Irene is described as having a "soul of steel" by the King; however, considering the King is portrayed as a buffoon and his intelligence is insulted by Holmes on occasion, his fear of Irene may be more related to the fact that she is infinitely smarter than him, rather than necessarily cold and calculating. In fact, she echoes Holmes on many levels; both of them wear costumes in the story (Holmes disguises himself on two occasions, and Irene disguises herself as a man in order to determine whether or not Holmes has been hired to retrieve the photo), and both of them use their wits to try and outdo one another. While she does admit that her and her new husband's flight at the end of the story is the result of being pursued by so "formidable an antagonist" as Holmes, this seems to refer to her impression of him as an equal in intelligence rather than the fear that she will be punished by the law. This I feel is presented differently in the movie, as movie!Irene is illustrated as being threatened by Holmes' association with the law. She is also presented as a physical force to be reckoned with, as she gets her hands dirty multiple times in the streets of London, taking on muggers and diabolical masterminds alike. Book!Irene tends to choose a more quite approach in making her impression on Holmes, and because of this I feel it would make her personality differ down to its very core.
There is a fair amount of detail given to book!Irene's every day life, as well; basically, she still sings in music halls to bide her time, and she doesn't wind up getting involved with Moriarty (nor would she ever be put in the position to have to within the book canon). The one thing she does that make her stand out is her crossdressing, something that the movie touches on but never entirely elaborates. Being that she embraces such a quiet life, and does not seek the fortune nor thrill that stealing may provide, she also differs from movie!Irene in that matter. Book!Irene dresses as a man because of the "freedom" it provides her, and due to the level of her intelligence, the implication is that by dressing as a man she would be treated as such and be able to move more freely through society and gather more respect. That adds a dimension to Irene that is absent in the movie; because of her somewhat edgy hobby of dressing as a man, we can once again see more of a quiet but steady fight against the Victorian norm, something that isn't equally apparent in the movie!Irene, who seems to be accepted as an equal by her male counterparts without question.
For the most part, while they share a similar backstory and perhaps even some personality traits, I feel that the path the movie takes with Irene differs so much from the what the story provides of her that they are, at their very essence, different characters. I think their choices, drives, and decisions in life differ enough that they both would take an entirely different experience out of the game, and they could serve to be dynamically different characters.
Irene appears in only one story in Holmes canon, called "A Scandal in Bohemia." It's a signature story not only in the fact that it's the first in the collection of "the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" but also because it is Irene's story, and even in her singular appearance she has become an iconic aspect of the canon. Interestingly enough, and something that end up serving extensions of the canon such as the film, Irene never actively appears in the story. Due to the nature of the way Holmes is written (through Watson's eyes), and the fact that Watson is also not actively present in much of the Bohemia case, Irene is portrayed only through Holmes' retelling of events and it leaves a fair amount of room for interpretation as to who she actually is. However, I feel that I can still build an argument based on the fact that that the movie exhibits a distinctly different character than the story necessarily intended.
I think it's probably best to work this as a comparison between the Irenes (and I'm actually watching the movie as I write this so that I can key on specific examples that will hopefully serve in illustrating my point of view.). Movie!Irene is introduced as a world class criminal, and she and Holmes already share a advanced history, one that is even implied as intimate. She's on the run from the law and working for Moriarty. These are huge differences in terms of her history, to me, when compared to book!Irene. In the story, Irene is never once referred to as a criminal; as a matter of fact, she seems quite the opposite, living what is referred to as a "quiet" life in London during her retirement. She used to be an opera singer (a fact I do not recall being mentioned in the film) and it was during her time working in Warsaw that she entered into an affair with the King of Bohemia.
Although the story itself scandalizes not only Irene but also the King, and puts her in a questionable position as she had threatened to blackmail him to prevent him from marrying another woman, it carries a completely different air than the movie surrounded Irene with. Movie!Irene is very driven in terms of furthering herself as a thief, and her inability to stay in one place (or remain married) caters to that. Book!Irene's motives, however, are never completely revealed in terms of why she has threatened blackmail, beyond the King's admission that she will go to any length to stop him from marrying another woman and thus the implication being that she is heart broken and bitter. While the movie illustrates a clever con-woman, the story concentrates more on a scorned woman, eager to prove her worth by overpowering a king.
The twist is, of course, that Irene herself ends up being married to a man named Norton Godfrey, and thus allows the King the freedom to marry his own bride, telling Holmes that he may do so because "{Irene} loves and {is} loved by a better man than he." Movie!Irene is characterized almost to the point of being a man-eater, as Holmes observes she is "between husbands," whereas book!Irene is characterized more as a scorned woman who desperately wished to find someone to love her properly, and by succeeding, found the peace she needed to move on from her previous relationship.
That is not to say, however, that book!Irene is less fierce than movie!Irene, but I feel that that power is channeled in ways that differ the two fundamentally. Book!Irene is described as having a "soul of steel" by the King; however, considering the King is portrayed as a buffoon and his intelligence is insulted by Holmes on occasion, his fear of Irene may be more related to the fact that she is infinitely smarter than him, rather than necessarily cold and calculating. In fact, she echoes Holmes on many levels; both of them wear costumes in the story (Holmes disguises himself on two occasions, and Irene disguises herself as a man in order to determine whether or not Holmes has been hired to retrieve the photo), and both of them use their wits to try and outdo one another. While she does admit that her and her new husband's flight at the end of the story is the result of being pursued by so "formidable an antagonist" as Holmes, this seems to refer to her impression of him as an equal in intelligence rather than the fear that she will be punished by the law. This I feel is presented differently in the movie, as movie!Irene is illustrated as being threatened by Holmes' association with the law. She is also presented as a physical force to be reckoned with, as she gets her hands dirty multiple times in the streets of London, taking on muggers and diabolical masterminds alike. Book!Irene tends to choose a more quite approach in making her impression on Holmes, and because of this I feel it would make her personality differ down to its very core.
There is a fair amount of detail given to book!Irene's every day life, as well; basically, she still sings in music halls to bide her time, and she doesn't wind up getting involved with Moriarty (nor would she ever be put in the position to have to within the book canon). The one thing she does that make her stand out is her crossdressing, something that the movie touches on but never entirely elaborates. Being that she embraces such a quiet life, and does not seek the fortune nor thrill that stealing may provide, she also differs from movie!Irene in that matter. Book!Irene dresses as a man because of the "freedom" it provides her, and due to the level of her intelligence, the implication is that by dressing as a man she would be treated as such and be able to move more freely through society and gather more respect. That adds a dimension to Irene that is absent in the movie; because of her somewhat edgy hobby of dressing as a man, we can once again see more of a quiet but steady fight against the Victorian norm, something that isn't equally apparent in the movie!Irene, who seems to be accepted as an equal by her male counterparts without question.
For the most part, while they share a similar backstory and perhaps even some personality traits, I feel that the path the movie takes with Irene differs so much from the what the story provides of her that they are, at their very essence, different characters. I think their choices, drives, and decisions in life differ enough that they both would take an entirely different experience out of the game, and they could serve to be dynamically different characters.