A very valid perspective, Janice. I think it took them until their return to the trail to feel the sense of freedom that they had gained. But, still, years on they are not free. I believe they are farming someone else’s farm - they have the outdoor life they love but it has no great meaning when it’s not their own.
Besides which, I think none of us are free, whether or not we have money, property, the freedom to move, or whether we create an off-grid, sustainable lifestyle, we are always governed by our circumstances and the requirement to uphold our chosen lifestyle. Freedom is a state of mind, when we feel joy in taking the rough with the smooth, and being able to keep an opportunity for a fresh perspective close at hand. That’s what, I believe, the Winns did gain.