I quite like Virginia Woolf, or at least I have ever since I read Killing the Angel in the House, which should surely be the bible of the h8ter cabal. Summary in case you haven't read it: Women are not here to make men happy. We're not all your fucking mothers. And, oh yes, BITE ME.
And I entirely agree with you about Peter. Aside from anything else (like him being a dick), Clarissa's life is not made by the man she's with, she's a complicated and self-aware woman with a range of concerns. And, no, it's not a romance. Damn it, I could go on for ages. I stop now.