 As a work of sentimentalist literature, the conflict created by the story is dealt with almost entirely through the emotional response that Ellen has to the conditions in which she is put in the novel.In this, the main conflicts that Ellen encounters deals with how she can internally deal with each of the emotional problems she is met with in a way that is characteristic of strength and perseverance.Ellen's mother leaving for France due to her sickness is the conflict which sets the entire narrative in motion, which occurs at the very start of the story.