What is the main conflict in Ruth Hall and Other Writings by Fanny Fern?

Ruth Hall by Fanny Fern is a fiction novel that closely resembles the real life of the author. It is divided into ninety short chapters and, as the author states in the preface, this work does not follow the conventional rules of novel writing in 1855. The story follows the life of Ruth Hall, a woman who becomes a widow at a very young age and is forced to create a life for herself and her children that defies the conventional rules of society.