"Pygmalion" by George Bernard Shaw and "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" by Thomas Hardy.

Some story lines overwhelm their heroes or heroines with good luck. Sometimes characters experience misfortune at the beginning of their story but later emerge with their situations resolved. Other times, however, the entire story line works almost completely against the hero or heroine's will until the end. Both Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy and Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw feature a female character who experiences several turns of unfortunate events. Tess Durbeyfield and …

…fullest physical extent in Pygmalion as it is in Tess. Although several of Eliza's distresses are in the same manner as Tess's, the misfortunes of Tess cause her situation to be worse than Eliza's and impossible to change. Similarly, they are oppressed by means of their gender and status, but overall, the overwhelming differences between each woman's freedom and ability to change their circumstances cause Tess, in the end, to emerge without a satisfying resolution.