There are good men in the world, and there are bad men in the world, including where women are concerned. And yes, it is that black and white.

The good men you will find between the covers of a great book can love deeply, honor, and cherish a woman, while the bad men usually uses her for some hidden reason.

While we aren't always told why the character becomes base in the novels, in real life we know that callous men are usually born from some trauma in childhood; emotional or physical abuse on one hand or excessive indulgence and praise on the other.

Both extremes will produce a man with a heart open only to himself, who usually has misogynistic tendencies lurking underneath his infinite charm.

Ironically, an exceedingly charming personality is a trait many deceitful men possess, making good, naiive women susceptible to them.

Therefore, the first rule is to raise your daughter to beware of charming men!

The tragic heroines in our stories usually learn this lesson too late, after an unscrupulous man had destroyed life. It happens like this in real life too.

Some heroines survive the tragedy; others throw themselves under trains.

As a homeschooler, you can read and discuss the classics with your daughter. As you discuss them, point out the character traits of the good man vs. the not-so-good man.

Analyze how the tragic heroine fell under the spell of the unprincipled man, and drill it into your daughter to recognize the difference between how a good man will treat a lady and how a bad man will treat her.

And teach her to listen to her own heart. The heart is wise and will often tell us things the mind may prefer not to know.

When she comes across both honorable and dishonorable men in life; as she will encounter both, she'll be better equipped to know the difference.

Some good novels to begin reading with your daughter are Persuasion by Jane Austen, War and Peace by Tolstoy, The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James, Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, and Madame Bovary by Flaubert.

For example, in the novel Persuasion, after being charmed by her cousin, who is also a potential husband, Anne Elliot's good friend warns her about Mr. Elliot's true nature. To quote Jane Austen:

"Hear the truth, therefore, now, while you are unprejudiced. Mr. Elliot is a man without heart or conscience; a designing, wary, cold-blooded being, who thinks only of himself; who, for his own interest or ease, would be guilty of any cruelty, or any treachery, that could be perpetrated without risk of his general character. He has no feeling for others. Those whom he has been the chief cause of leading into ruin, he can neglect and desert without the smallest compunction. He is totally beyond the reach of any sentiment of justice or compassion. Oh! he is black at heart; hollow and black!"

Keep in mind that Anne Elliot was no dummy. She was bright and insightful, at least where everyone else was concerned. But when it came to Mr. Elliot, she thought he was just about perfect.

It's easy to be deceived by these kinds of men because they have mastered the art of seduction, and they know how to catch their prey.

If you raise your daughter to beware of the signs that point to a man with a callous heart, when she encounters one, she will be less likely to end up a tragic character in the story of her own life.

And that's just one more reason to read the classics!

Don’t miss our free download, 10 Books Every Well-Educated Child Should Read.

When you join the Smart Homeschooler Academy online course for parents, Liz will share her 6-step framework for homeschooling brighter, happier, engaged kids who can get into the top 20 colleges and excel in their personal and professional lives.

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Elizabeth Y. Hanson is a homeschooling thought-leader and the founder of Smart Homeschooler.

As an Educator, Homeschool Emerita, Writer, and Love and Leadership Certified Parenting Coach, she has 23 years of experience working in education.

Developing a comprehensive understanding of how to raise and educate a child, based on tradition and modern research, Liz devotes her time to helping parents to get it right.

Liz is available for one-on-one consultations as needed.

"I know Elizabeth Y. Hanson as a remarkably intelligent, highly sensitive woman with a moral nature and deep insight into differences between schooling and education. Elizabeth's mastery of current educational difficulties is a testimony to her comprehensive understanding of the competing worlds of schooling and education. She has a good heart and a good head. What more can I say?”

—John Taylor Gatto Distinguished educator, public speaker, and best-selling author of Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling