This is a pretty involved topic. I'll give it a shot but this is only a short Q and A forum. Alice has been describes as a girl who resists the system. Remember, this is the Victorian era and women were subjected to a very patriarchal system. Alice's assertiveness, strong ideas and search for something more put her at odds with the system. Similarly, Dina Dalal rebels against India's very patriarchal system. She resists getting remarried and has the gumption to start a tailoring business on her own. Both Alice and Dina challenge the status-quo of their environment. They are women who take considerable risk to establish their individuality. I hope that's a beginning for you. The stories are so different in nature. You will have to pull these themes together.