Spinster family caretaker for their family of origin or for a married sibling's children, "poor relations" who would work "to earn their keep" as nannies or unpaid domestics. For example, being a governess was the fate expected by rejected titular orphan in Charlotte Brontë's novel "Jane Eyre" (1847); Eyre retained that status until the man she loved was widowed and available. A common theme in the fiction writings of author/poet Sandra Cisneros is marital disillusionment; for example. in the poem "Old Maids" (1994). In the Charles Dickens' classic "Great Expectations", the primary antagonist is Miss Havisham, a spinster embittered by being
Miss Havisham into Miss Havisham’s death. The opera gives her first name as "Aurelia". Miss Havisham is a major character in the comic detective/mystery series of novels featuring Thursday Next by Jasper Fforde. The stories are set in a fantasy/alternate universe milieu, in which characters borrowed from classic literature play a prominent role. Ronald Frame's 2013 novel, "Havisham", is a non-canonical story about Miss Havisham's early life. The story tells how Miss Havisham (given the name of Catherine) is the daughter of a brewer. The story tells of more than just the infamous trauma of being left behind by her fiancé and