I think it's a given that if you're going to study the literary canon, you are going to encounter some things that are uncomfortable. You're going to encounter a lot of values you disagree with, you're going to encounter a lot of things that will piss you off and upset you and, depending on past experiences, may even relate to painful memories, but in many cases, that's the point. Literature is full of people writing about their pain, or the pain of others, and the point is generally to make you, the reader, empathize with those characters. It's not going to be all rainbows and kittens, by definition.
