Lydia Bennet

A boy-crazy, totally unselfconscious teenager, the youngest Bennet sister runs off with Mr. Wickham, who is later forced to marry her.

We've said it before, and we'll say it again. The fact that a young female character written at the start of the 19th century is allowed to go off with some dude for a bunch of premarital sex and then isn't punished with death makes Pride and Prejudice about as girl-power as a novel written at this time can get. Yes, Lydia is impulsive and kind of moronic and generally a big drain on her family. But come on, the deck has kind of been stacked against her from the start. Think about it: Lydia is only fifteen! She's been raised by a woman who is exactly like her, and a man who couldn't care less! No wonder she gets seduced by the first good-looking smooth-talker who comes along.