Miss Maudie shows herself remarkably unruffled in the face of her home's destruction. She's always had quite an easy approach to life, taking everything in her stride. And yet even here, as her home burns down before her very eyes, her fundamental character remains the same. Among other things, Miss Maudie is a very practical woman. Yes, she may have lost her home, but she can always build another one. What's more, that new house will have a bigger garden, enabling her to grow an even more impressive variety of flowers than Bellingrath Gardens.

This isn't all just a front on Miss Maudie's part; she isn't simply putting a brave face on it. This is who and what she is. She has an astonishing ability to move on with her life, taking each day as it comes. If today's a bad day, then there's always tomorrow. There's no point crying over spilled milk—or a burning house, if it comes to that—you just to have pick yourself up and move on.