If you don't want to flee, then don't, but it is an option.
Not being able to resolve conflict to your satisfaction in the manner that you wish doesn't make it not an option. Sometimes people in a violent rage don't calm down if you run away and come back a minute later.
I don't know why I'm even entertaining this part of the conversation.
We haven't justified that stealing a wooden spoon should result in a violent rage at all.
Well, this is a prison camp, so the spoon may be one of the character's few possessions and a valuable one at that. (Read "One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich" if you don't believe me.) People have a breaking point and if they are pushed beyond that they will respond violently even if the odds are against them. Also a mother may also attack where she feels her child is at risk.
I'm sure there are many other reasons as well, but two should suffice.
