Enjoyed your comments. I read the Hunger Games with my kids, and have come to really appreciate the series.

I would suggest that, rather than autonomy, Peeta seeks to preserve his integrity. Autonomy suggests that his outlook is good because he has chosen it and is sticking with it, rather than because it is truly, objectively good. This goes with his intent to protect Katniss, if he can, because he loves her, recognizing that she is truly good, i.e., her virtues.

As you say, when we initially meet Katniss she is capable of loving the good, in the person of her little sister, Prim, but she can’t or won’t love anyone beyond the circle of her own small family. This seems to be the result of losing her father, and, in effect, her mother (due to depression) at such a young age. Her father seems to have been the only person who truly loved her (i.e., loved her without expecting anything in return). His loss, along with her having to immediately step into the role of mother and father for her little sister, have taught her that she can’t count on anyone else. So her relucant political growth, in the next two books, parallels her growth in the capacity to accept love–to accept that she is, or can be, loved without expectation of return.