What social conventions did Emilie defy throughout her life, in your view?
Training horses; not riding side-saddle; Not wearing a hat and getting tan. Being opinionated. Believed in the supernatural.
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following her passion, rather than following the traditional roles that society dictated for women during that time. I admired how Emilie stood her ground with her dad about pursuing her career with horse training..
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She challenged many of the expectations placed on women in her time. She chose her own path instead of accepting the roles society expected. She valued her independence.
I find this comment reinforces what I mentioned in another question - How could she be two different people? Emilie followed her passion, stood her ground with her father, but yet succumbed to Keller’s cruelty and thievery! Did anyone else wonder why she was so subservient and afraid of Keller?
She became a woman who trained horses which was extremely unconventional. Emelie was in no hurry to get married and liked her independence. Social events were not wonderful events for her. She wasn’t into wearing the latest fashions.
We humans are very complicated beings! There are lots of people successful in careers for example who cannot relate in a meaningful way to others. Being talented and even able to excel in one aspect of life does not translate to success in other aspects. Otherwise, we would all be perfect 
This is what keeps the therapists busy - helping us figure out what our stumbling blocks are to being fulfilled in areas we find ourselves lacking.
I wonder if there were some kind of therapists back then? But I’m sure, like now, people would say “I don’t need a therapist!”
Emilie was ahead of her time. She needed her independence, which went against the culture and the law in many ways. She was very bright and did not want the usual education afforded to women, but the same as men. She ran her own businesses and protected her land as soon as the law was passed in Arkansas. She did not want to rely on anyone for a living.
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I was so disappointed when she fell for Keller. I was sure that she was going to kill him after the rape. I think she felt trapped, she was legally unable to divorce him. She found ways around him like sharing ownership of Star and having family hide her money. She did have her father to consider so it was another way of feeling trapped.
Common with abused women to feel trapped and her relationship with her mother set her up for it.
She started off right away being non-conventional (socially) in that she loved the horses and working with them. She fought her mother’s insistence that she learn to embroider. She didn’t enjoy the finishing school preferring her horses. In many ways it’s not surprising as she did not have the affection of her mother and most likely found that affection among the horses.
I agree with Patricia, Emillie was a woman before her time. You summed it up in a nutshell.
I liked how independent Emilie was, excelling in a career that was considered for men and not being concerned with fashion or the expectations of being a female. She had her own opinion and expressed her viewpoints. I know this was challenged when she was with Keller, and she was not as independent, but I understood that in her mind she did not have a lot of options.
Emilie did not want the usual female education and wanted to follow her dream of training horses (which she excelled at). She was practical (split skirt for training) and a good business woman and I was so glad when she could get divorced from Walker. She was a very independent woman. I was rooting for Caleb to be her soulmate since they had many things in common but alas, it was not to be.
Emilie was definitely unconventional and especially in that time period. Many of the things she did would still be unconventional today. Training horses, not caring about how she dressed, not seeking a husband. Not seeking a husband would not be considered too unconventional today. She wanted to achieve independence in that she could own her property outright without a husband and keep her own money. She didn’t choose well in husbands however. She did have a little more protection from Walker. Her interest in the law and politics was also a bit unconventional for women of that time.