Editing Irene Adler

{{Short description|Fictional character created by Arthur Conan Doyle}}
{{about|the Sherlock Holmes character|the Marvel Comics adaptation of the character|Destiny (Irene Adler)|the character who adopted the name|The Club Dumas}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox character
| name        = Irene Adler
| image       =
| series      = [[Sherlock Holmes]]
| first       = "[[A Scandal in Bohemia]]" (1891)
| creator     = Sir [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]
| occupation  = Opera singer
| full_name   =
| spouse      = Godfrey Norton
| gender      = Female
| nationality = British/American
}}
'''Irene Adler''' is a [[fictional character]] in the [[Sherlock Holmes]] stories written by Sir [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]. A former opera singer and actress, she was featured in the short story "[[A Scandal in Bohemia]]", published in July 1891. Adler is one of the most notable female characters in the Sherlock Holmes series, despite appearing in only one story. While not technically a criminal and bearing no malice towards Holmes, she outsmarts him and evades his traps. Sherlock Holmes refers to her afterwards respectfully as "the Woman".<ref name="scandal">"A Scandal in Bohemia" by Arthur Conan Doyle. Published 25 June 1891 in the July issue of ''[[The Strand Magazine]].''</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/whodunitwhoswhoi0000unse/page/4|title=Whodunit? : a Who's Who in Crime & Mystery Writing|last=Rosemary|first=Herbert|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|location=Oxford, England|date=2003|isbn=0195157613|pages=[https://archive.org/details/whodunitwhoswhoi0000unse/page/4 4]|oclc=252700230}}</ref>

Despite her brief appearance in the canon, Adler persists in many [[#Adaptations|adaptations]] of Sherlock Holmes. While in the original, [[Dr. Watson|Watson]] notes Holmes has no romantic interest in Adler or in women in general, pointing out the detective only exhibits a platonic admiration for her wit and cunning,<ref name="scandal" /> some derivative works reinterpret Adler as a romantic interest for Holmes or as a former lover who later engages in crime.<ref name="game">'''''[[Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows]]''''' (2011), Warner Bros. Pictures.</ref> Retrospectively, the original story is viewed as a more progressive and feminist interpretation of Adler. From the television shows ''[[Sherlock (TV series)|Sherlock]]'' and ''[[Elementary (TV series)|Elementary]]'' to the film ''[[Sherlock Holmes (2009 film)|Sherlock Holmes]]'', each portrayal depicts several notable qualities Adler possesses, such as her independence, adaptability, and intelligence; but a common issue pointed out with each portrayal is the attempts to mesh these qualities with seduction and manipulation.<ref name="Romero2021">{{Cite journal |last=Romero |first=Adriana Victoria |date=2021 |title=The Woman: Irene Adler in Literature, Media, and "A Scandal In Bohemia |url=https://rio.tamiu.edu/etds/145 |journal=Theses and Dissertations |issue=145}}</ref>

==Fictional character biography==
[[File:A Scandal in Bohemia-06.jpg|thumb|Holmes (in disguise) at the wedding of Irene Adler and Godfrey Norton, 1891 illustration by [[Sidney Paget]]]]
Adler appears only in "[[A Scandal in Bohemia]]". Her name is briefly mentioned in "[[A Case of Identity]]", "[[The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle]]", and "[[His Last Bow (story)|His Last Bow]]".

According to Doyle's "A Scandal in Bohemia", Adler was born in [[New Jersey]] in 1858. She had a career in opera as a [[contralto]] or [[soprano]], performing at ''[[La Scala]]'' in Milan, Italy, and a term as [[prima donna]] in the Imperial Opera of [[Warsaw]], Poland. In Poland, she became the lover of Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein, [[Grand Duke]] of Cassel-Felstein and [[King of Bohemia]]. The King describes her as "a well-known adventuress" (a term widely used at the time in ambiguous association with "[[courtesan]]"<ref>{{cite book|first=Piya|last=Pal-Lapinski|title=The Exotic Woman in Nineteenth-Century British Fiction and Culture: a Reconsideration|publisher=[[University Press of New England]]|location=Lebanon, New Hampshire|date=2005|isbn=978-1584654292|page=[https://archive.org/details/exoticwomaninnin0000pall/page/71 71]|url=https://archive.org/details/exoticwomaninnin0000pall/page/71}}</ref><ref name = "bed">{{cite book|first=Christopher|last=Redmond|title=In Bed with Sherlock Holmes: Sexual Elements in Arthur Conan Doyle's Stories|publisher=[[Dundurn Press]]|location=Toronto, Canada|date=2002|isbn=978-0889241428|pages=57–66}}</ref>) who has "the face of the most beautiful of women and the mind of the most resolute of men."

Five years after their secret romance, it has been arranged for the King to marry Clotilde Lothman von [[Saxe-Meiningen]], a young Scandinavian princess. However, he fears her conservative family would call off the wedding if any evidence of his former liaison with Adler were ever revealed to them. He fears she may attempt to blackmail him with a photograph of the two.

The events of the story unfolds when the King seeks out Holmes' skills to retrieve the photograph from Adler after multiple attempts have proved fruitless. In pursuit of information about Adler, Holmes witnesses her marry Godfrey Norton in secret. Despite this, Sherlock still tries to retrieve the photograph. However, Adler, aware of his plan, flees the country before they can catch her. Holmes has been outwitted.

His perspective on the investigation changes when Holmes realizes that he has been on the wrong side of the affair all along. In a handwritten letter addressed to him, Adler reveals that she has hidden the photograph simply for the purpose of protecting herself against the monarch's wrath.<ref name="whodunit">{{Cite journal |last=Popłońska |first=Magdalena |date=2014 |title=Whodunit to Irene Adler? From "the Woman" to "the Dominatrix" – on the Transformation of the Heroine in the Adapting Process and Her Representation in the Sherlock Miniseries |url=http://hdl.handle.net/11089/22954 |journal=Analyses/Rereadings/Theories Journal |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=41|hdl=11089/22954 }}</ref> She writes, "As to the photograph, your client may rest in peace. I love and am loved by a better man than he. The King may do what he will without hindrance from one whom he has cruelly wronged."<ref name="scandal" />

Holmes, who "used to make merry over the cleverness of women," requests a photograph of Adler in lieu of an emerald ring from the King and leaves, "without observing the hand which the King had stretched out to him." He keeps her photograph locked up as a reminder of his respect for her intellectual prowess.

==Possible real-life inspirations==
[[File:Lillie Langtry by Sarony cph.3b10327.jpg|thumb|upright=.85|[[Lillie Langtry]] (circa 1882),  possible model for Adler]]
Adler's career as a theatrical performer who becomes the lover of a powerful aristocrat had several precedents. One is [[Lola Montez]], a dancer who became the lover of [[Ludwig I of Bavaria]] and influenced national politics. Montez is suggested as a model for Adler by several writers.<ref name = "red">{{cite book|first=Christopher|last=Redmond|title=Sherlock Holmes Handbook|publisher=[[Dundurn Press]]|location=Toronto, Canada|date=1993|asin=B01K3NVXDQ|page=51}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Arthur Conan|last=Doyle|author-link=Arthur Conan Doyle|title=[[The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes]]|publisher=[[W.W. Norton]]|location=New York City|orig-year=1893|year=2005|isbn=978-1989201046|page=17}}</ref>

Another possibility is the actor [[Lillie Langtry]], the lover of [[Edward VII of the United Kingdom|Edward, the Prince of Wales]].<ref name = "red"/> Writing in 1957, Julian Wolff, a member of the literary society [[The Baker Street Irregulars]], comments that it was well known that Langtry was born in Jersey (she was called the "[[Jersey Lily]]") and Adler is born in ''New'' Jersey.<ref name = "bed"/> Langtry had later had several other aristocratic lovers, and her relationships had been speculated upon in the public press in the years before Doyle's story was published.

Another suggestion is the dancer Ludmilla Stubel, the alleged lover and later wife of [[Archduke Johann Salvator of Austria]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Russell|last=Miller|title=The Adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle: A Biography|publisher=[[Thomas Dunne Books]]|location=New York City|date=2008|isbn=978-0312378974}}</ref>

==Analysis of Adler in "A Scandal in Bohemia"==
[[File:A Scandal In Bohemia-09.png|thumb|Adler, in disguise, walks past Holmes and Watson as the two enter Holmes' residence, 1891 illustration by [[Sidney Paget]].]]

Adler is a unique character within the Holmes stories. While most women in the canon are either victims, objects of desire, or in need of the detective’s help, Adler has a large amount of agency in the story.<ref name="Aviram2011">{{cite journal |last1=Aviram |first1=Hadar |title=Dainty Hands: Perceptions of Women and Crime in Sherlock Holmes Stories |journal=Hastings Women's Law Journal |date=2011 |volume=22 |page=233 |url=https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hwlj/vol22/iss2/1}}</ref> Unlike Holmes' other female adversaries, Adler is not explicitly a criminal nor does she need Holmes' help; she only acts to protect herself.<ref name="Aviram2011" /><ref name="Romero2021" /> Adler is also unique because she outsmarts Holmes — Holmes remarks in "[[The Five Orange Pips]]" that he has been beaten just four times: "three times by men, and once by a woman",<ref>"The Five Orange Pips" by Arthur Conan Doyle. Published in the November 1891 issue of ''[[The Strand Magazine]].''</ref> that woman is believed by some to be Adler.<ref name="Romero2021" />

Due to her intelligence Adler earns Holmes's unbounded admiration, but he is not romantically attracted to her.<ref name="bunson1">{{cite book |last=Bunson|first=Matthew|author-link=Matthew Bunson |title=Encyclopedia Sherlockiana |year=1997 |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |location=New York City|page=3 |isbn=0-02-861679-0}}</ref> When the King of Bohemia says, "Would she not have made an admirable queen? Is it not a pity she was not on my level?" Holmes dryly replies that Adler is indeed on a much different level from the King.<ref name="faq">{{cite book|last=Thompson|first=Dave|title=Sherlock Holmes FAQ|publisher=[[Hal Leonard Corporation|Applause]]|year=2013|page=74|isbn=9781480331495}}</ref><ref name="scandal"/> The beginning of "A Scandal in Bohemia" describes the high regard in which Holmes held Adler:

{{blockquote|To Sherlock Holmes she is always ''the'' woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex. It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise but admirably balanced mind. [...] And yet there was but one woman to him, and that woman was the late Irene Adler, of dubious and questionable memory.<ref name="scandal"/>}}

Analysis of "A Scandal in Bohemia" has also focused on how Adler diverges from [[Victorian morality|Victorian social standards]] for women. She is unmarried at the beginning of the story, in opposition to "the importance that the middle classes placed on the family unit"<ref name="Smith2008">{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Kathryn Caroline |title=Forming and Protecting the Middle-Class Victorian Ideal: Holmes and Watson |date=2008 |url=https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncp/listing.aspx?id=3132 |website=libres.uncg.edu |publisher=The University of North Carolina at Pembroke}}</ref> at the time. Adler further defies gender norms by [[cross-dressing]], donning male clothes with great comfort as demonstrated by her reference to them as her "walking-clothes".<ref name="EMiller2008">{{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Elizabeth Carolyn |title=Framed: The New Woman Criminal in British Culture at the Fin de Siecle |date=2008 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=9780472050444 |page=26 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv65swhm}}</ref><ref name="scandal"/> Several authors have argued that Adler's nonconformity is what leads to her victory over Holmes, as he makes deductions based on societal norms that she does not adhere to.<ref name="Smith2008"/><ref name="EMiller2008"/><ref name="Aviram2011"/> Holmes underestimates her ability to detect his ulterior motives when he enters her home, then the detective is unable to recognize the cross-dressing Adler, and so does not know she is aware of his plot. This gives her time to abscond with the all-important photograph, triumphing over Holmes.

== Portrayals of Adler in derivative works ==
In derivative works, she is frequently used as a [[romantic interest]] for Holmes, a departure from Doyle's story where he only admired her for her wit and cunning.<ref name="bunson1" /><ref name="game" /> In his ''Sherlock Holmes Handbook'', Christopher Redmond writes "[[Canon of Sherlock Holmes|the Canon]] provides little basis for either sentimental or prurient speculation about a Holmes–Adler connection."<ref>{{cite book |last=Redmond |first=Christopher |title=Sherlock Holmes Handbook: Second Edition |publisher=[[Dundurn Press]] |year=2009 |isbn=9781459718982 |location=Toronto, Canada |page=53}}</ref>

===Books===
In his fictional biographies ''[[Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street]]'' (1962) and ''Nero Wolfe of West Thirty-fifth Street'' (1969), [[William S. Baring-Gould]] puts forth an argument that Adler and Holmes meet again after the latter's supposed death at [[Reichenbach Falls]]. They perform on stage together incognito, and become lovers. According to Baring-Gould, Holmes and Adler's union produces one son, [[Nero Wolfe]], who would follow in his father's footsteps as a detective.

In [[John Lescroart#Auguste Lupa series|two novels]] by [[John Lescroart]] published in 1986 and 1987, it is stated that Adler and Holmes had a son, Auguste Lupa, and it is implied that he later changes his name to Nero Wolfe.

A series of mystery novels written by [[Carole Nelson Douglas]] (1990–2004) features Adler as the protagonist and sleuth, chronicling her life shortly before (in the novel ''Good Night, Mr. Holmes'') and after her notable encounter with Sherlock Holmes in "A Scandal in Bohemia", in which the series features Holmes as a supporting character.<ref>{{cite web|last=Douglas|first=Carole Nelson|author-link=Carole Nelson Douglas|title= Why Can't They Get Irene Adler Right? |url=https://www.mysteryscenemag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3237:why-cant-they-get-irene-adler-right&catid=20:articles&Itemid=191|work=[[Mystery Scene]]|access-date=28 December 2017}}</ref> The series continues with Adler’s other adventures in numerous locations around the world, showcasing her cunning and brilliance. Compared with later adaptations, Douglas’s mysteries have been praised for not “rel[ying] on Adler’s sexuality or appearance.”<ref name="Romero2021" /> Douglas provides Adler with a back story as a child vaudeville performer who was trained as an opera singer before going to work as a [[Pinkerton Government Services|Pinkerton]] detective. In the books, Douglas strongly implies that Irene's mother was Lola Montez and her father possibly Ludwig I of Bavaria. The series includes Godfrey Norton as Irene's supportive barrister husband; Penelope "Nell" Huxleigh, a vicar's daughter and former governess who is Irene's best friend and biographer; and Nell's love interest Quentin Stanhope. Historical characters such as [[Oscar Wilde]], [[Bram Stoker]], [[Alva Vanderbilt]] and [[Consuelo Vanderbilt]], and journalist [[Nellie Bly]], among others, also make appearances.

The young adult series ''Sherlock, Lupin and Me,'' by Alessandro Gatti under the pen name Irene Adler, is a four book series about the adventures a young Adler has with a young Sherlock Holmes and [[Arsène Lupin]].

Adler appears as an opera singer in the 1993 [[pastiche]] ''[[The Canary Trainer]]'', where she encounters Holmes during his three-year 'death' while he is working as a violinist in the Paris Opera House, and asks him to help her protect her friend and unofficial protégé, [[Christine Daaé]], from the '[[Erik (The Phantom of the Opera)|Opera Ghost]]'.

In the 2009 novel ''[[The Language of Bees]]'' by Laurie R. King, it is stated Adler is deceased when the book takes place and once had an affair with Sherlock Holmes. The story reveals she gave birth to a son, Damian Adler, an artist now known as The Addler.

A duology series of [[Young adult fiction|young adult]] titles by author Claire M. Andrews about Adler's beginnings is set to be published in August 2025. The first novel, ''A Beautiful and Terrible Murder'', explores Adler's education and family history while she solves a series of murders at Oxford University alongside Sherlock.<ref>https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/202327041-a-beautiful-and-terrible-murder</ref>

===Comic books===
[[Marvel Comics]] character [[Destiny (Irene Adler)]] is a [[Mutant (Marvel Comics)|mutant]] with precognitive abilities. Destiny's connection to Sherlock Holmes stories had long being teased through her lover [[Mystique (character)|Mystique]]'s past as a consulting detective, as both women were active in the late 19th century. ''Immortal X-Men'' #8 (2022) by [[Kieron Gillen]] explicitly canonized the connection, presenting Holmes as an identity used by Mystique and Destiny as her companion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/2022/11/28/23481962/marvel-x-men-sherlock-holmes|title=Marvel's newest mutant is the actual Sherlock Holmes |first=Susana|last=Polo|date=November 28, 2022|website=Polygon}}</ref>

===Manga===
In the 2016 manga series ''[[Moriarty the Patriot]]'', {{Nihongo|Irene Adler|アイリーンアドラー|Airīn'adorā}} is featured as an expert [[Cross-dressing|cross-dresser]] and spy who impersonates the King of Bohemia to trick Sherlock Holmes and John Watson into taking her on as a roommate without pay. Later, the Moriarty brothers help her to fake her death to escape being assassinated, and she begins working for Mycroft Holmes and the British government under the guise of {{Nihongo|[[James Bond (literary character)|James Bonde]]|[[James Bond (literary character)|ジェームズ・ボンド]]|[[James Bond (literary character)|Jēmuzu Bondo]]}}.

===Films===
In the 1946 film ''[[Dressed to Kill (1946 film)|Dressed to Kill]]'', Adler is mentioned early in the film when Holmes and Watson discuss the events of "A Scandal in Bohemia."

She is portrayed by [[Rachel McAdams]] in the 2009 film ''[[Sherlock Holmes (2009 film)|Sherlock Holmes]]''. In that film, she is a ''[[femme fatale]]''. A skilled professional thief, as well as a divorcée, Adler is no longer married to Godfrey Norton, and needs Holmes' help for the case.<ref name="bromance">{{cite news| date = 12 February 2009| first1 = Larry|last1=Carroll|first2 = Josh|last2=Horowitz| title = Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law Explore 'Bromance' On 'Sherlock Holmes' Set| url = http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1604911/story.jhtml| work = [[MTV]]|publisher=[[Viacom (2005–present)|Viacom]]|location=New York City| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090213104536/http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1604911/story.jhtml| archive-date = 13 February 2009| access-date =29 June 2019| url-status = dead| df = dmy-all}}</ref> She and Holmes are depicted as having a deep and mutual infatuation, even while she is employed by [[Professor Moriarty]].

McAdams reprised the role in the 2011 sequel ''[[Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows]]'' in which Moriarty, deeming her position compromised by her love for Holmes, poisons and (apparently) kills her. Moriarty taunts Holmes about murdering Adler, and Holmes swears revenge, leading to [[The Final Problem|their climactic battle at Reichenbach Falls]].

===Radio===
Margaret Ward voiced Adler in a radio dramatisation of the short story "[[A Scandal in Bohemia]]" in 1954.<ref>{{cite book|last=De Waal|first=Ronald Burt|title=The World Bibliography of Sherlock Holmes|year=1974|publisher=Bramhall House|page=[https://archive.org/details/worldbibliograph00dewa/page/383 383]|isbn=0-517-217597|url=https://archive.org/details/worldbibliograph00dewa/page/383}}</ref> The character was played by [[Gudrun Ure]] in a 1966 radio dramatisation of the same story. Both radio dramas aired on the [[BBC Light Programme]].<ref>{{cite book|last=De Waal|first=Ronald Burt|title=The World Bibliography of Sherlock Holmes|year=1974|publisher=Bramhall House|page=[https://archive.org/details/worldbibliograph00dewa/page/391 391]|isbn=0-517-217597|url=https://archive.org/details/worldbibliograph00dewa/page/391}}</ref> In 1977, [[Marian Seldes]] played Adler in the ''[[CBS Radio Mystery Theater]]'' radio adaptation of "A Scandal in Bohemia".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Payton|first1=Gordon|last2=Grams |first2=Martin Jr.|title=The CBS Radio Mystery Theater: An Episode Guide and Handbook to Nine Years of Broadcasting, 1974–1982|publisher=McFarland & Company|year=2012|page=216|isbn=9780786492282}}</ref>

[[Sarah Badel]] portrayed Adler in the 7 November 1990 [[BBC Radio 4]] broadcast of "A Scandal in Bohemia" opposite [[Clive Merrison]]'s Holmes. [[Ellen McLain]] played Adler in the ''[[Imagination Theatre]]'' radio dramatisation of "A Scandal in Bohemia", which aired on 17 June 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://harrynile.com/product/a-scandal-in-bohemia/|website=Imagination Theatre|title=A Scandal in Bohemia|year=2020|access-date=27 March 2020}}</ref>

===Stage===
Adler was portrayed by [[Inga Swenson]] in the Broadway musical, ''[[Baker Street (musical)|Baker Street]]'' which also starred [[Fritz Weaver]] as Sherlock Holmes. According to the liner notes of the original cast album, the story makes extensive use of the story "A Scandal in Bohemia". The play opened at [[the Broadway Theatre]], New York City, on 16 February 1965 and ran for 313 performances. The show's book was by [[Jerome Coopersmith]] and the music and lyrics were by [[Marian Grudeff]] and [[Raymond Jessel]]; the production was directed by [[Harold Prince]].

===Television series===
Adler was played by [[Olga Edwardes]] in the episode "A Scandal in Bohemia" in the 1951 TV series ''[[Sherlock Holmes (1951 TV series)|Sherlock Holmes]]''.

In the 1984 [[Granada Television]] series ''[[Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV series)|The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes]]'' starring [[Jeremy Brett]], the first episode is "A Scandal in Bohemia", in which Adler is played by [[Gayle Hunnicutt]].

In "[[A Scandal in Belgravia]]", the first episode of the 2012 second series of the BBC ''[[Sherlock (TV series)|Sherlock]]'', Adler was portrayed by [[Lara Pulver]] opposite [[Benedict Cumberbatch]] as Holmes. She is initially sought to recover incriminating photos she possesses of a liaison between her and a female member of the Royal Family, along with various other incriminating documents kept in a password-protected phone. 

In the CBS series, ''[[Elementary (TV series)|Elementary]]'', Adler is initially an [[unseen character]] in the first season, mentioned first in "Flight Risk" (2012) as a former love interest of Holmes. It is later explained that she apparently died at the hands of a [[serial killer]] Holmes was investigating known as "M", an event that fuelled Sherlock's descent into [[heroin addiction]]. In "M", Sherlock confronts M, revealed to be [[Sebastian Moran]], and is told that Adler was not killed by Moran, but by his employer: [[Professor Moriarty|Moriarty]]. In "Risk Management", it is explained that Adler was an American art restorer living in London. Holmes discovers Adler is alive, having been kept as Moriarty's prisoner in a dilapidated house. It is later revealed that Adler was a false identity assumed by [[Professor Moriarty|Jamie Moriarty]]. [[Natalie Dormer]] played Adler/Moriarty in the final three episodes of the season.

In the 2013 Russian drama ''[[Sherlock Holmes (2013 TV series)|Sherlock Holmes]]'', Adler takes a major role in the series and is portrayed by Lyanka Gryu.

In the 2014 Japanese [[puppetry]] television show, ''[[Sherlock Holmes (puppetry)|Sherlock Holmes]]'', broadcast on [[NHK]] (日本放送協会, Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai, Japan Broadcasting Corporation), Adler is a [[school nursing|school nurse]] of a fictional boarding school [[Beeton School]]. At first she has an affair with Headmaster Ormstein but takes up with another man Godfrey Norton who teaches art and sees through the plot of Holmes and Watson in "The Adventure of the Headmaster with Trouble" based on "[[A Scandal in Bohemia]]". She is voiced by [[Rie Miyazawa]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Shārokku Hōmuzu Boken Fan Bukku |last1=Okazaki |first1=Shinjiro |last2=Fujita |first2=Kenichi |date=2014 |publisher=Shogakukan |location=Tokyo, Japan |pages=12, 37–39, 75–77}}</ref>

Adler appears in the original anime television series ''[[Case File nº221: Kabukicho]]'' (2019–2020), voiced by [[Maaya Sakamoto]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pipecat-kabukicho.jp/chara_sub08.html|title=<nowiki>CHARACTER | オリジナルTVアニメ「歌舞伎町シャーロック」公式サイト</nowiki>|website=pipecat-kabukicho.jp|access-date=1 December 2019|language=ja}}</ref> In the anime television series ''[[Moriarty the Patriot]]'', Adler is voiced by [[Yōko Hikasa]], taking on the [[Cross-dressing|male guise]] of James Bonde to work as a spy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-03-03/moriarty-the-patriot-anime-2nd-half-reveals-new-cast-member-theme-songs-april-4-premiere/.170185|title=''Moriarty the Patriot'' Anime's 2nd Half Reveals New Cast Member, Theme Songs, April 4 Premiere|first=Alex|last=Mateo|website=[[Anime News Network]]|date=3 March 2021|access-date=7 April 2021}}</ref>

===Television films===
In the 1976 film ''[[Sherlock Holmes in New York]]'', Adler ([[Charlotte Rampling]]) helps Holmes and Watson to solve a bank robbery organised by Holmes' nemesis, [[Professor Moriarty]], after he takes her son hostage to prevent Holmes from investigating the case. Holmes and Watson later rescue the boy, with a final conversation between Holmes and Adler at the conclusion of the case implying that Holmes is in fact the boy's father. This version of Adler is not an opera singer, but an actress.

Adler is featured in Soviet director [[Igor Maslennikov]]'s made-for-TV 5-part film series ''[[The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson]]''. She appears in the fourth part, ''[[The Treasures of Agra]]'' (1983), based upon ''[[The Sign of the Four]]'' (main storyline) and ''[[A Scandal in Bohemia]]'' (flashback), in which Holmes and Watson, while waiting for the new information on his current case, remember their encounter with Adler (played by Larisa Solovyova).

In the 1984 made-for-TV film ''[[The Masks of Death]]'', a widowed Adler, played by [[Anne Baxter]], is a guest at Graf Udo Von Felseck ([[Anton Diffring]])'s country house where Holmes ([[Peter Cushing]]) and Watson ([[John Mills]]) are investigating the supposed disappearance of a visiting prince. Although Holmes initially considers her a suspect, she proves her innocence and becomes an ally.

In the 1991 television film ''[[Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady]]'', Adler ([[Morgan Fairchild]]) reunites with an ageing Holmes ([[Christopher Lee]]) when a murder happens during her performance in Vienna. Holmes and Adler, whose flirtatious relationship with Sherlock is similar to ''[[Sherlock Holmes in New York]]''‘s portrayal, briefly refer to past confrontations, including a rather confusing case where Adler had posed as a young boy to retrieve something hidden in Holmes's safe. Adler also explains that she was married for several years (Holmes having last seen her at the wedding previous to the film), only for her husband to die of illness two years before the film's events.

[[Liliana Komorowska]] portrayed Adler as a Polish opera singer in [[The Hallmark Channel]]'s 2001 made-for-TV film ''[[The Royal Scandal]]'' opposite [[Matt Frewer]]'s Holmes.

In 2007's [[BBC Television]] production ''[[Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars]]'', Adler (portrayed by [[Anna Chancellor]]) is the main villain of the piece and one of Sherlock Holmes' archenemies instead of a potential love interest.

===TV episodes of unrelated series===
In an episode of the [[PBS Kids]] show ''[[Wishbone (TV Series)|Wishbone]]'', actress Sally Nystuen Vahle portrays Adler for the adaptation of "A Scandal in Bohemia" entitled "A Dogged Exposé" (1995).

In the television series ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'', [[James Wilson (House)|James Wilson]] tells a story about Adler, a patient with whom [[Gregory House]] was obsessed and fell in love, in the 2008 episode "[[Joy to the World (House)|Joy to the World]]".

In "The 10 Li'l Grifters Job" (2011), the season 4 episode 2 of ''[[Leverage (American TV series)|Leverage]]'', the character Sophie portrays Adler at the Murder Mystery Masquerade.

In the season five episode of ''[[The Flash (2014 TV series)|The Flash]]'' entitled "Goldfaced" (2019), detective [[Harrison Wells|Sherloque Wells]] meets Renee Adler (portrayed by [[Kimberly Williams-Paisley]]), the [[Earth-1]] doppelgänger of his five ex-wives.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://tvline.com/2019/01/30/the-flash-season-5-kimberly-williams-paisley-cast-sherloque-wife/ |title=The Flash: Kimberly Williams-Paisley to Play Sherloque's Ex-Wife |last=Mitovich |first=Matt Webb |date=30 January 2019 |website=[[TVLine]] |access-date=7 February 2019}}</ref> She is later shown to be a [[metahuman]] with possible [[telekinesis|telekinetic]] powers; upon seeing this, Sherloque vows to protect her from metahuman-serial killer [[Cicada (comics)|Cicada]]. During the episode, Sherloque also has an encounter with four of his ex-wives, all of whom are variants of Adler. Now that they know which Earth he is on, they demand their back [[alimony]] payments be met within a month, or they will have a [[Multiverse (DC Comics)|multiverse]]-traveling bounty hunter come and collect the payments for them.<ref name="Goldfaced">{{Cite episode |title=Goldfaced |episode-link=Goldfaced |series=The Flash |series-link=The Flash (2014 TV series) |network=[[The CW]] |date=5 February 2019 |season=5 |number=13}}</ref>

== Controversy of modern adaptations ==
Despite Adler's brief appearance in the Sherlock Holmes canon, she has become the sole woman character the audience associates with Holmes in contemporary adaptations. With the character's popularity, comes a significant change in canon where Adler is framed as a romantic liaison of Holmes.<ref name="whodunit" /> Heavier emphasis is placed on her "body" and physical representation by hinging on tropes of sexuality.

There is a claim that Adler is a feminist/proto-feminist character. Some argue that, Adler “serves as a feminist symbol within a literary series that predominantly praises masculine behavior”<ref name="Romero2021" /> and shows that “even in 1891, strong feminist characters existed.”<ref name="Romero2021" /> Due to Adler’s unique position of being a woman who outsmarted Holmes, many claim that she is a feminist character and therefore should be adapted as such.<ref name="Roy2021">{{Cite journal |last=Roy |first=Debanjali |last2=Putatunda |first2=Tanmoy |date=2021-12-11 |title=Tyrannous Minds and Tamed Bodies: The Curious Case of Irene Adler from Canon to Screen |url=https://rupkatha.com/v13n444/ |journal=Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities |language=en-US |volume=13 |issue=4 |doi=10.21659/rupkatha.v13n4.44 |issn=0975-2935 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Primorac2013">{{Cite journal |last=Primorac |first=Antonija |date=2013 |title=The Naked Truth: : The Postfeminist Afterlives of Irene Adler |url=https://neovictorianstudies.com/article/view/134/130 |journal=Neo-Victorian Studies |language=en |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=89–113 |issn=1757-9481}}</ref>

On the contrary, some claim that, despite Adler’s outsmarting of Holmes, she should not be regarded as a feminist character. Although Alder is uncharacteristically independent, at the end of “A Scandal in Bohemia,” Holmes still comes to “acquire” her in the form of a photo, following the anti-feminist view of women as objects.<ref name="Roy2021" /> There also is an argument that Adler still abides by female gender roles, seeking just to get married and be subservient to her husband. One notable proponent of this idea is Steven Moffat, creator of ''A Scandal in Belgravia'' who claims <blockquote>"In the original, Irene Adler's victory over Sherlock Holmes was to move house and run away with her husband. That's not a feminist victory."<ref name="guardian">{{Cite news |last=Jeffries |first=Stuart |date=2012-01-20 |title='There is a clue everybody's missed': Sherlock writer Steven Moffat interviewed |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2012/jan/20/steven-moffat-sherlock-doctor-who |access-date=2024-11-30 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref></blockquote>As such, modern reinventions of Adler almost always attempt a "post-feminist metamorphosis" by providing her autonomy over her body where she can maneuver her sexuality to exert control over the male-centered narrative.<ref name="Roy2021" /> Through a liberal feminist lens, Adler's sexualized role names and confronts the power of men to the male audience in order to defy the patriarchal structure.<ref name="Litteral2017">{{Cite journal |last=Litteral |first=Sarah |date=2017 |title=Irene Adler, Just another Damsel |url=https://ecommons.udayton.edu/lxl/vol4/iss1/6 |journal=Line by Line: A Journal of Beginning Student Writing |volume=4 |issue=1}}</ref>

However, this deviation from the source material has become heavily criticized as problematic in nature. By "sex-ing" up her character, postmodern adaptations "failed to re-appropriate [Adler] from its Victorian original by falling back on dominant masculine discourses."<ref name="Roy2021" /> Critics attribute this deviation to the "sensationist urge" to make modern Victorian adaptations more "sexy and sexual" by "introducing nudity and sexually risqué narrative elements."<ref name="Primorac2013" />

=== ''Sherlock Holmes'' (2009) and ''Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows'' (2011) ===
[[Guy Ritchie]]'s Adler is straightforwardly Holmes' love interest. In both films, she claims authority by weaponizing her sex appeal. Her power is mostly equated with her clothing or the absence of it. As opposed to the autonomous agency of Doyle's version, Adler is an agent of Professor Moriarty and obeys his instructions without any independent arc of her own, functioning as a pawn and an intellectual inferior compared to her male counterparts.<ref name="Roy2021" />

Regarding the scene where she dresses in front of Holmes, kisses him passionately and drugs him before leaving him handcuffed to the bed, it is observed by Rhonda L. H. Taylor that,

{{blockquote|"[h]er overt sexuality is a weapon used with the intent and result of disorienting Holmes and making him appear foolish, an emasculating (sic.). This Adler uses her female nudity as a disguise/deception to best Holmes, rather than assuming the canonical Adler's disguise as a young man to accomplish the same goal."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=R.L.H |title=Gender and the Modern Sherlock Holmes: Essays on Film and Television Adaptations Since 2009 |date=2015 |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers}}</ref>}}

=== "A Scandal in Belgravia" (2012) ===
One of the most controversial takes on Adler is an episode of the BBC series [[Sherlock (TV series)|Sherlock]] titled "[[A Scandal in Belgravia]]". Her introduction was a response to criticism across the internet over the domination of male characters in the first season of the show while the female characters are always portrayed to be "arrested, avenged, ridiculed or rescued." Adler is presented in the first episode as an antagonist who uses her sexuality through her dominatrix position in order to gain secrets and other information to blackmail her clients. In reality however, she is later revealed to still be under the mercy of the men around her, who still have the real authority and control. Critics point out that even in a dominatrix framing where the woman occupies a dominant role, they are still following the orders of their male counterpart and focusing on the satisfaction of a male consumer.<ref name="Litteral2017" />

Some critics defended Adler's portrayal in her initial scenes, pointing to moments when she physically overpowers Sherlock with a [[BDSM|riding crop]] or when Sherlock fails to deduce anything from her naked body. In an interview to the [[The Guardian|Guardian]], [[Steven Moffat]], co-creator of the series defends this portrayal of Adler, stating, "in the original, Irene Adler's victory over Sherlock Holmes was to move house and run away with her husband. That's not a feminist victory."<ref name="guardian" />

However, to most critics, the misogyny behind the character was shown in the final scenes. Adler's power becomes temporary as she is revealed to be a confederate in [[Professor Moriarty|Jim Moriarty]]'s schemes. As she remarks in the episode's final moments, "I had a bit of help. I had all this stuff, and never knew what to do with it. Thank God for [Jim Moriarty]." Later, Sherlock claims victory over her by deducing her emotions with his cold rationality and Moriarty's protection is lost and control over her is reinstated to Sherlock, once again encasing the autonomy of Adler within masculine boundaries.<ref name="Roy2021" /> Critics point out that "Irene fears bodily injury. Her phone, the sensitive information stored within it, both protects and endangers Irene's body... its loss exposing her to physical harm"<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Farghaly |first1=Nadine |title=Gender and the Modern Sherlock Holmes: Essays on Film and Television Adaptations since 2009 |last2=Katzir |first2=Lindsay |date=2015 |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers |pages=98–117}}</ref> and that between Sherlock, Moriarty or Mycroft Holmes, all three men have more power and resources to force Adler to be compliant in order to survive.

Critics also claim that her overall role in the episode reinforces the prostitution paradigm, that all women are sexual property of men. Rather than belonging to one man, Adler functions as "public property" and her only real use is her sexual function,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dworkin |first=Andrea |date=1993 |title=Against the Male Flood: Censorship, Pornography, and Equality |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/hwlj8&div=5&id=&page= |journal=Letters from a War Zone |volume=8 |pages=253–275}}</ref> following the trend of women's role in the Sherlock series as "conduit[s] for male power...as the object of sexual dominance, they are necessary to release that power. But they do not acquire power themselves; it is, instead, passed on to Holmes."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hall |first=Jasmine Yong |date=1991 |title=Ordering the Sensational: Sherlock Holmes and the Female Gotheic |journal=Studies in Short Fiction |pages=295–304}}</ref>

In her final appearance in the episode, a hijab-clad Adler is rescued by Sherlock from the hands of a terrorist cell in Pakistan. This scene garnered widespread criticism. In the essay "Postfeminism and Screen Adaptations of Sherlock Holmes Stories: The Case of Irene Adler", Antonija Primorac observes,
<blockquote>
By the end of the episode, the dangerously sexual female nude body of the metropolitan center is displaced into a Pakistani desert and transformed into a kneeling powerless bundle of indigo-blue wraps that set off her tear-sodden face. The luminous skin of her ‘battledress’, of the naked female body-as-weapon, is supplanted by a crestfallen figure in a hijab. In a stereotypically Victorian fashion that does not feature in Doyle's text, Adler's use of her own body as a means of power turns her into a fallen woman who has to be punished, banished to the former colonial space and saved by the hero.<ref name="Primorac2013" />
</blockquote>

==Name pronunciation==
Different pronunciations of "Irene" have been proposed for Adler. The traditional British pronunciation of the name is "Eye-''ree''-nee", which has been used for Adler's first name in some adaptations, including the BBC [[Sherlock Holmes (1989 radio series)|1989–1998 radio series]]. The standard American pronunciation of the name, "Eye-''reen''", would be appropriate since Adler is said to be from New Jersey. It may also be pronounced this way in modern British usage. This pronunciation has been used in television adaptations such as ''[[Elementary (TV series)|Elementary]]'', ''[[Cashville (Cartoon Series)|Cashville]]'' and ''[[Sherlock (TV series)|Sherlock]]''. Another pronunciation, "Ayr-''ray''-na", was used in the [[Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV series)|Granada television series]]. This pronunciation has a "continental flavour" fitting Adler's career as an opera singer in continental Europe.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=Roger |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W-ISDQAAQBAJ&q=correct+pronunciation |title=The Sherlock Holmes Miscellany |last2=Upton |first2=Jean |publisher=The History Press |year=2012 |isbn=9780752483474 |pages=155–156}}</ref><ref>{{cite episode |title=A Scandal in Bohemia |series=BBC Radio Sherlock Holmes |station=BBC Radio 4 |date=7 November 1990 |number=5}}</ref>

==Portrayals==
===Radio and audio dramas===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Name !! Title !! Date !! Network
|-
| [[Gudrun Ure]]
| ''[[Sherlock Holmes (1952 radio series)|Sherlock Holmes]]'' – "A Scandal in Bohemia"<ref>{{cite web |title=Sherlock Holmes Again: 1: Scandal in Bohemia|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/9ca239ea7a2c4ed4b35ab727635daec2 |access-date=January 29, 2025|work=BBC Radio Genome}}</ref>
| 1966
| [[BBC Light Programme]]
|-
| [[Marian Seldes]]
| ''[[CBS Radio Mystery Theater]]'' – "A Scandal in Bohemia"<ref>{{cite book|last1=Payton|first1=Gordon|last2=Grams Jr.|first2=Martin|title=The CBS Radio Mystery Theater: An Episode Guide and Handbook to Nine Years of Broadcasting, 1974–1982|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|year=2012|page=216|isbn=9780786492282}}</ref>
| 1977
| [[CBS Radio]]
|-
| [[Sarah Badel]]
| ''[[Sherlock Holmes (1989 radio series)|The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes]]'' – "A Scandal in Bohemia"
| 1990
| [[BBC Radio 4]]
|-
| Lindsay Whisler
| rowspan="2" | ''[[Moriarty (podcast)|Moriarty]]''
| 2022
| rowspan="2" | Scripted podcast ([[Audible (service)|Audible]])
|-
| Arielle Goldman
| 2023
|}

===Stage plays===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Name !! Title !! Date !! Type
|-
| [[Inga Swenson]]
| ''[[Baker Street (musical)|Baker Street]]''
| 1965
| Musical ([[Broadway theatre|Broadway]])
|-
| [[Tanya Franks]]
| ''Sherlock Holmes: The Best Kept Secret''<ref>{{cite web |title=Sherlock Holmes: The Best Kept Secret – review|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/jun/02/sherlock-holmes-best-kept-secret-review |access-date=January 29, 2025|work=The Guardian}}</ref>
| 2013
| Play by Mark Catley
|-
| [[Renee Olstead]]
| ''Sherlock Holmes''<ref>{{cite web |title=David Arquette as ‘Sherlock Holmes’: Elementary and worse|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2015/11/27/david-arquette-as-sherlock-holmes-elementary-and-worse/ |access-date=January 29, 2025|work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>
| 2015
| Play by Greg Kramer
|-
| rowspan="3" | Sarab Kamoo
| ''Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Elusive Ear''<ref>{{cite web |title=Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Elusive Ear|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhWQNKsPkgY |access-date=January 29, 2025|work=YouTube}}</ref>
| 2018
| rowspan="3" | Plays by David MacGregor
|-
|''Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Fallen Soufflé''<ref>{{cite web |title=Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Fallen Soufflé|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8bgY-WSWu8 |access-date=January 29, 2025|work=YouTube}}</ref>
| 2019
|-
|''Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Ghost Machine''<ref>{{cite web |title=Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Ghost Machine|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qQC-Qd8nfo |access-date=January 29, 2025|work=YouTube}}</ref>
| 2022
|-
|}

===Television and DTV films===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Name !! Title !! Date !! Type
|-
| [[Charlotte Rampling]]
| ''[[Sherlock Holmes in New York]]''
| 1976
| Television film (American)
|-
| [[Anne Baxter]]
| ''[[The Masks of Death]]''
| 1984
| Television film (British)
|-
| [[Morgan Fairchild]]
| ''[[Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady]]''
| 1992
| Television film
|-
| Carolyn Wilkinson
| ''[[The Hound of London]]''
| 1993
| Television film (Luxembourgish-Canadian)
|-
| [[Liliana Komorowska]]
| ''[[The Royal Scandal]]''
| 2001
| Television film (Canadian)
|-
| [[Anna Chancellor]]
| ''[[Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars]]''
| 2007
| Television film (British)
|}

===Television series===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Name !! Title !! Date !! Type
|-
| [[Olga Edwardes]]
| ''[[Sherlock Holmes (1951 TV series)|Sherlock Holmes]]'' - "A Scandal in Bohemia"
| 1951
| (British)
|-
| [[Larisa Solovyova]]
| ''[[The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson]]'' - "The Treasures of Agra"
| 1983
| (Russian)
|-
| [[Gayle Hunnicutt]]
| ''[[Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV series)|The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes]]'' - "A Scandal in Bohemia"
| 1984
| (British)
|-
| rowspan="2"|[[Lara Pulver]]
| ''[[Sherlock (TV series)|Sherlock]]'' - "[[A Scandal in Belgravia]]"
| 2012
| (British)
|-
| ''[[Sherlock (TV series)|Sherlock]]'' - "[[The Sign of Three]]"
| 2014
| (British)
|-
| [[Natalie Dormer]]
| ''[[Elementary (TV series)|Elementary]]''
| 2013-2015
| (American)
|-
| [[Lyanka Gryu]]
| ''[[Sherlock Holmes (2013 TV series)|Sherlock Holmes]]''
| 2013
| (Russian)
|-
| [[Rie Miyazawa]]
| ''[[Sherlock Holmes (2014 TV series)|Sherlock Holmes]]''
| 2014-2015
| (Japanese)
|-
| [[Maaya Sakamoto]]
| ''[[Case File nº221: Kabukicho]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pipecat-kabukicho.jp/chara_sub08.html|title=<nowiki>CHARACTER | オリジナルTVアニメ「歌舞伎町シャーロック」公式サイト</nowiki>|website=pipecat-kabukicho.jp|language=Japanese|access-date=December 1, 2019|archive-date=18 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240518120927/http://pipecat-kabukicho.jp/chara_sub08.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| 2019
| (Japanese)
|-
| [[Yoko Hikasa]]
| ''[[Moriarty the Patriot]]''
| 2020–2021
| TV anime series (Japanese)
|-
| Natalie Van Sistine
| ''[[Moriarty the Patriot]]''
| 2020–2021
| TV anime series (Japanese) (English dub)
|-
| Whoopie Van Raam
| ''[[Watson (TV series)|Watson]]'' - "A Variant of Unknown Significance"
| 2025
| (American)
|}

===Theatrical films===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Name !! Title !! Date !! Type
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Rachel McAdams]]
| ''[[Sherlock Holmes (2009 film)|Sherlock Holmes]]''
| 2009
| (British-American)
|-
| ''[[Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows]]''
| 2011
| (British-American)
|-
| [[Belén López (actress)|Belén López]]
| ''[[Holmes & Watson. Madrid Days]]''
| 2012
| (Spanish)
|-
| [[Mary J Blige]]
| ''[[Sherlock Gnomes]]''
| 2018
| Paramount
|}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.diogenes-club.com/irene.htm "A Few Words about theatres in Warsaw, or where Sang Irene Adler" by Joanna Polatynska with Catharina Polatynska]
* [http://atlantyca.com/en/foreign-rights/Sherlock-Lupin/Sherlock-Lupin/bpp,658 "Irene Adler: Sherlock, Lupin And I"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922153113/https://atlantyca.com/en/foreign-rights/Sherlock-Lupin/Sherlock-Lupin/bpp,658 |date=22 September 2021 }}

{{HolmesNovels}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adler, Irene}}
[[Category:Female characters in film]]
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[[Category:Female characters in television]]
[[Category:Fictional characters from New Jersey]]
[[Category:Fictional femmes fatale]]
[[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1891]]
[[Category:Fictional opera singers]]
[[Category:Sherlock Holmes characters]]
[[Category:Crime film characters]]
[[Category:Fictional characters from the 19th century]]
[[Category:Fictional criminals in films]]
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