We live in a world in which we glorify the characters of classic literature; we glorify the likes of Tess Durbeyfield, Catherine Earnshaw and even Stanley Kowalski. However, the modern view of such characters isn’t always the view the writers or their contemporary readers held. Their pain and abuse is romanticised and we apply our own stereotypes of the modern world to the characters. We have unrealistic views and expectations of the eras in which the characters reside; but what would the characters be if we forced those stereotypes upon them? 19th Century prostitutes dressed as if they have just left the bright colours of the Moulin Rouge that Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor painted for us all, gentlemen dressed as if their life is solely grandeur and velvet waistcoats, marital abuse as if it’s the most romantic thing in the world.