The Tucks’ home is much more disorganized and comfortable than the Fosters' home, and Winnie is homesick.
Winnie is surprised by the way the Tucks live. She does not necessarily prefer the way the Fosters live, but she is not used to the way the Tucks live. Everything is comfortable but a little bit haphazard and messy at the Tuck house.
The Foster house is one where there is a place for everything and...
The Tucks’ home is much more disorganized and comfortable than the Fosters' home, and Winnie is homesick.
Winnie is surprised by the way the Tucks live. She does not necessarily prefer the way the Fosters live, but she is not used to the way the Tucks live. Everything is comfortable but a little bit haphazard and messy at the Tuck house.
The Foster house is one where there is a place for everything and everything is in its place. It is a household where it is the women’s duty to keep things neat. Winnie has been trained to view housekeeping this way.
Winnie had grown up with order. She was used to it. Under the pitiless double assaults of her mother and grandmother, the cottage where she lived was always squeaking clean, mopped and swept and scoured into limp submission. There was no room for carelessness, no putting things off until later. (Ch. 10)
Therefore, she is totally unprepared for the kind of household she steps into at the Tucks’ house. The Tucks believe more in comfort than in order. Winnie is amazed and enamored of the “homely little house beside the pond.” She finds it disorderly, but realizes the Tucks are okay with that.
It was a whole new idea to her that people could live in such disarray, but at the same time she was charmed. It was . . . comfortable. … "Maybe it's because they think they have forever to clean it up." And this was followed by another thought, far more revolutionary: "Maybe they just don't care!" (Ch. 10)
Dust, messes, and disorganization do not bother the Tucks. They have lived long enough to get their priorities straight. Apparently, when you live forever it no longer matters to you if the dishes are done or not. Other things in life become more valued.
Although Winnie finds this lifestyle luxurious and exciting, she also misses home. She has never been away from home before, and never slept in a bed besides her own. It is not a matter of choosing one lifestyle over another, at the point. Winnie just misses the familiar.
In the end, Winnie chooses not to become immortal. She remains a Foster. Winnie has learned some interesting lessons about life from the Tucks and her experiences with them, but she decides that she would rather continue being mortal and living her own life.
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