Preference toward classics , but will take moderns as well.
Not necessarily looking for an inherently high-agency character, but one who learns to impose themselves on their environment as they grow throughout the narrative/arc.
Closest things I can think of that I’ve read & somewhat fit:
– The Count of Monte Cristo
– The Fountainhead
by omurphyx
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The Great Gatsby – the narrator Nick is more of an observer at first but makes a decision as he learns more about his environment
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke.
One of my favourite classics Bel Ami by Guy de Maupassant is very high-agency.
For a more subtle instance of a protagonist growing in confidence and imposing herself on her surroundings I would recommend Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier.
The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson