Unrequited Love in Literature

Dante and Beatrice by Henry Holiday

 

While perusing the Guardian's Ten of the Best Examples of Unrequited Love, I noticed the list was heavily one sided.  All of the authors consist of men and their object of desire, a woman.  The only exception being Ian McEwan's Enduring Love where one man is obsessed with another of the same sex.  This leads me to wonder, where are the female authors who write about a woman pining for a man, or alternatively a woman? I'm sure there are books that I'm not privy to where that may be the central conflict, however they most likely are buried in subgenres such as erotica. 

Furthermore, the Guardian's list mostly includes classics by Victor Hugo, Shakespeare and Charles Dickens.  Again, Ian McEwan seems to be the exception since I consider him to be a contemporary author.  Similar to the "great paintings" in art history where women were only seen as objects, literary works from the past, frame the woman as the object of desire.  I think it begs the question, would there be any difference in the way a man with unrequited emotions handles the situation compared to a woman or is it a universal experience?  I read Cyrano de Bergerac in school (our teacher also screened the movie, a modern adaptation called Roxanne), and I can honestly say I felt pity for the main character, but I do not remember feeling empathy.  Perhaps, the story was lost on me as a teenager, but I think that's truly the challenge of an author.  To write a character that is so emotionally involved that the reader cannot help but live in their skin. 

This topic relates to the novel I've written which is from a woman's point of view and her want to attain the affection of a man that cannot realistically reciprocate those same feelings.  I'm sure there's an untapped audience out there.  It would be of interest to hear other's thoughts - does this subject provoke interest to you? Why do you believe there have been no popular or highly acclaimed books where the woman is left in longing?