On page 11, Spiegelman tells us that his father’s second wife Mala was a survivor too, like most of his parents’ friends. Why does Spiegelman call Mala a survivor? What does he mean?

Mala was an old friend before she married Vladek; she too survived the Holocaust.......... therefore, deeming her a survivor is appropriate. But I believe he also used this term to describe her in regards to "surviving" her marriage with his father. Vladek is rather cruel to her.