'The' Woman

"That's how a great scandal threatened the kingdom of Bohemia. And how the best plans of Mr. Sherringford Basil were beaten by a woman's wit..."

Much has been made of what relationship points between Sherringford Basil and Irene Relda, and such assumptions have neither been confirmed, nor denied. Basil is "the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen," but he was not without feeling. The truth is that emotions, however abhorrent to him in literary scribbles by the pen of Dr. David Q. Dawson, are definitely a part of him. Emotions fill much of his practice and private life, and dictate many of his characteristic actions. Basil is a far cry from intellect frozen in unemotional ice who rarely spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe and a sneer. He is flesh and blood; he is a man of moods; he is a man of temperament; he is a man of wants and desires; and yes, he is a man of emotions.

He is, however, reserved towards women because he felt their influence a distraction to his work and would not allow himself, as Dawson several times have before, to become swayed by what romantic allure they possess. Against, in his eyes, there is but one woman to him. She eclipses the whole of her sex and it is she who had earned Basil's everlasting respect and admiration as a wily antagonist for he was beaten only four times — "three times by men and once by a woman."

Inspiration - Irene Adler (SCAN), Lillie Langtry (Historical) | Models - Gayle Hunnicutt, Francesca Annis (and 50+ others) | Costume - Chantal Mallett's "Ice Queen" (sleeveless)

Medium - 2H mechanical pencil, HB graphite.

Mlle. Irene Relda © Diane N. Tran.