Charlotte Brontë (1816–1855) is a classic author whose works are in the public domain.
Jane Eyre refuses pity, refuses subordination, and refuses to believe her suffering determines her worth—a bildungsroman that's essentially a woman arguing back against every force trying to diminish her. Brontë's heroine doesn't triumph through virtue alone; she survives through tenacity, rage, and an unshakeable sense of her own value.
