Because you like Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind

Yes, she's an "older" woman, but that just makes Mrs. Robinson sexier and more seductive. See them in The Graduate.

Romantic, impulsive, and captivated by the joys of life, Natasha Rostova is on the messy path of growing up. See them in War and Peace.

Celie Johnson says she's poor, black, and may even be ugly. But dear God she's here. See them in The Color Purple.

Catherine Linton was once spontaneous and rowdy but ever since marrying the wealthy Edgar, she has morphed into a boiling pot of emotional outbursts. See them in Wuthering Heights.

Anna Karenina doesn't want to be a respectable woman any more. She thinks respect was invented to cover the empty place where love should be. See them in Anna Karenina.

The singer and ukulele player of her girl band, Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk is the life of a party and the woman of a man's dreams. See them in Some Like It Hot.

Emma Woodhouse knows what's best for everyone else. Just don't try to tell her what to do. See them in Emma.

As Marlena Rosenbluth is finding out, confidence in the limelight doesn't always translate to power at home. See them in Water for Elephants.

Holly Golightly spends so much time trying to be other people's dream girl, she doesn't really know what kind of girl she actually is. See them in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Sharply perceptive and stubbornly principled, Jane Eyre might not have a very loud voice, but she knows when and how to use it. See them in Jane Eyre.

Calling Alicia Florrick a "good wife" is damning this smart, capable, thoughtful woman with too-faint praise. See them in The Good Wife.

Robbie Turner has been accused of a crime he never committed, changing the course of his life forever. See them in Atonement.