You might like Tess of the D'Urbervilles, actually. For its time, it was a massive "take that!" at everybody who claimed that a raped woman was a ruined woman, or that selling your body to feed your family was a means too "evil" for the ends, or--heck--even that illegitimate children were bad. And it slams the double standard for male and female virginity. It was so daring for its time that it was widely decried and/or banned for being immoral.

When read by modern standards, Tess is a fairly passive heroine, but she's pretty darned impressive for her day and age (heck, she supports herself by honest work as a single woman!), despite the men who try to make her a victim, and even after she hits rock bottom, she musters the nerve in the end to--actually, I won't spoil it. Read it yourself. Warning: Not a happy book. ;_;