What does the mother stand for?  I was really ambivalent about her.  I liked her and at first I didn't think there was anything odd about her letting the two boys go on a fishing trip with their dad - who had been missing for 12 years.  But as the dad manifested his lack of concern for their safety (which at first I attributed to him wanting them to learn to be independent but then I began attribute to him just not caring if they were in dangerous situations as long as he, the dad, got his way) I found myself really angry at the mother for letting them go off with him.  So is she symbolic of anything in Russian society?