I'm with you on that one. Some characters are harder to write than others. A character who is basically a wild and crazy bitch as protagonist is much harder than one who is basically nice and bland.

I agree as well on your two comments. Scarlett comes off as spunky rather than evil incarnate in large part as it's obvious that she's defying society and actually suffering from doing so in some way. If she was being a raving bitch and everyone was all, "You go girl!" it would feel very off putting. (I mean, the only one who really likes her is Melanie.) And even Scarlett has a few redeeming qualities, and there are reasons given for at least some of her bitchiness. (OK, maybe not her overwhelming desire to steal Ashley, but at least when she nicked Frank from her sister, she was doing it to save Tara, not because she likes pissing off family members.)

Plus, if everyone likes your character (other than the evil ones who are just jealous), it comes off as very Mary Sue. No one is liked by everyone.