The book also depicts women through a series of portraits, comprising the neurotic little girl, the femme fatale, the crusader, the schizophreniac woman, the mystic, the profligate woman etc.
This was a radical departure from any role she had played before, casting her as a devious, manipulative, conniving and completely unscrupulous femme fatale.
This character has been said to be defined "against" the genre's stereotypes, particularly the femme fatale: they are not attractive, not home-bound, and not submissive, either conversationally or professionally.