Mother

A pretty woman, Mother is part of the upper-class family living in New Rochelle, New York. At the beginning of the novel, she is content in her role as wife and mother. Mother’s life, and character, changes when her husband leaves for the Arctic. Finding the tasks associated with her husband’s business mundane and simplistic, Mother begins to lose respect for Father’s role as breadwinner. Caring for Sarah and her child further change mother emotional and psychologically. The love she once had for her husband diminishes to that of one friend toward another as Mother’s sexual awareness frees her from societal repression. After Father’s death, Mother marries Tateh/Baron Ashkenazy, as their passions—physical, emotional, and intellectual—directly align. Mother symbolizes idealism and change within the novel.

Father

Father owns a company that manufactures fireworks, flags, banners, and other such patriotic paraphernalia. He...