Back when my friend convinced me to read Tess of the d'Urbervilles (the most depressing piece of literature in the history of civilization!), the edition I checked out from the library included a quote calling Tess a rare example of "goodness made interesting." Now, this actually isn't true of Tess because murder (however sympathetic the plight of the murderer, as hers is) is incompatible with "goodness"; she quite a heroine, just not "goodness made interesting."
