ya i was thinking before that she tried her best but could not do it due to the time period so she had no choice but to get the job that she had currently i don’t think it makes her less sympathetic (it was the time period i thought about before ) both ways have the same reason to take care of her mom.
but maybe i can say she tried jobs like candle making or getting leeches (i think that was actually a thing) but of course, her wounds healed maybe i go for jobs she tried that are not that harmful but did not pay well enough for food cloaths or medical stuff.
I’ll go for the second one because it would be more interesting
also, this was the same for my character Matthew when he had to take care of his mom, he was poor and he did get a job in cleaning (if i could remember). Still, he couldn’t afford to work in a factory due to the possibility of getting hurt and if gets hurt then who would take care of his mom?
so Matthew is ok too right? because i already established that long ago