This essay offers a reading of Maria Velho da Costa’s novel Irene ou o contrato social (2000) in the context of the theme of violence, giving it a central role in the development of the plot. Bearing this idea in mind, I try to look into the narrative strategies used to represent the different ways in which violence is handled by its characters. Resorting occasionally to other works by the author, I also try to show how Maria Velho da Costa does not always represent violence from a negative perspective, often giving it an ambivalent status.