Who is Mala Spiegelman from The Complete Maus and what is their importance?

At some point after Anja's suicide in 1968 Mala met and subsequently married Vladek Spiegelman. Little biographical information is given about Mala, even though she is a fairly prominent individual in much of the narrative. Like Vladek, Mala is a Holocaust survivor who spent at least some time in Auschwitz-Birkenau. It is unclear if Mala knew or even met Anja, but given that they were both in Auschwitz-Birkenau at the same time it is possible they were at least acquainted. Mala's concise biography is noted in Part 1, Chapter Four, where she holds a brief conversation with Artie.

Mala appears to be a very typical woman in most respects aside from being incredibly tolerant of Vladek's peculiar form of emotional abuse. She takes care of Vladek and keeps a clean house and cooks good food. She resents Vladek's penurious ways and tries to convince him to allow her to be a more equal partner in their relationship. After many years of frustration, Mala briefly separates from Vladek. When his health begins to fail he asks her to come back. Mala agrees but only if Vladek will unconditionally assign her a large portion of his financial assets. Vladek apparently agrees because Mala returns and cares for him until his death.