Women's struggles with life

Writer Hilton Als writes Jean Rhys for Financial Times.

I never got over the violence, heat and shabby gentility Rhys portrays in Sargasso, a book told from the point of view of Antoinette, the “first Mrs Rochester”, in Jane Eyre, the “mad woman in the attic”. Rhys resented how that Creole woman was treated in Bronte’s novel and so made a novel of her own, one where the back-story described destruction and identification, sometimes at the same time. In the beginning of the book, Rhys’s protagonist tells us about an insurrection in her Jamaican home. She writes:

I ran towards her, for she was all that was left of my life as it had been . . . As I ran, I thought, “I will live with Tia and I will be like her. Not to leave Coulibri. Not to go. Not.” 

Antoinette then notices the jagged stone in Tia’s hand, sees her fling it — but doesn’t feel its impact. All she feels is “something wet” running down her face, and she sees her former friend’s face “crumple up as she began to cry . . . We stared at each other, blood on my face, tears on hers. It was as if I saw myself. Like in a looking-glass.”

The Daily Jagran highlights '13 Books That Showcase Women's Struggles With Life' and one of them is

3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Brontë, is probably one of the greatest books written by a woman. The book narrates a story of a woman’s struggle for independence, dignity, and love without sacrificing her self-respect. The book is regarded as timeless feminist literature that questions gender roles. (Ridam Sharma)

Not one of the greatest books, but one of the greatest books written by a woman. That kind of sexism would certainly be one of 'women's struggles with life' too.