Content Warning: This novel contains depictions of death by suicide, mental health conditions, and child abandonment. Characters in the novel engage in stereotypical depictions of nomadic or transient people and unhoused individuals.

In many ways, Housekeeping is a novel about the different ways in which women in 1950s America could live their lives. Since housekeeping is a key aspect of any person’s life, and since this was mainly the domain of women in the 1950s, it is central to the novel. The first depiction of housekeeping in the novel is that of Edmund and Sylvia. Edmund’s first home was built almost completely underground so that the windows were at eye level. He leaves this home behind to build his home in Fingerbone. This home is said to be unconventionally built, but it stands the test of time, likely even failing to burn down even when Sylvie and Ruthie purposefully try to destroy it. While Edmund is responsible for building his home, it is the women who care for the home.

Sylvia cares for her daughters and later her granddaughters, often through food. She enjoys cooking for them and keeping them well fed. She also keeps up their appearance to make them look suitable in public.