The story-telling mother
Instead of being a mother to her children, this politically-minded career woman and socialist activist, Olive Wellwood, has become an ironic symbol. She is archetypal in her profound knowledge about motherhood and about life and psychology in general, which make her like Hera or something, but then she does not feel motherly emotional attachment toward her own children. She is an abstract person who often misses the important facts of the concrete world, but in her children's symbolic opinions of her, she is a scary and godlike person with no particular allegiance to them. She represents the archetypal "horrifying mother."
The allegory of the husband
The husband's story seems to be included in a specific way, so that his character's gradual change throughout the book can be seen as a commentary on Olive's character. As an avid critic of his wife, his opinion will adequately represent a level-headed rejection of her behavior. In general, his opinion can be thought of as a rejection of certain aspects of feminism, not rooted in any political disagreement whatsoever, but rooted instead in his desire for a more affectionate, child-centric mother figure in the home. Of course, this is extremely complicated, and Olive comes to appreciate that complexity when she sees her children literally fear her.
The cousins
First of all, there is a serious numbers game in this novel. There is a family with seven children and a family with two children, and they're related as cousins (the two husbands are brothers). That means that in one family, there is a balance. In other words, the cousins are foils for the Children. As foils, they help the reader to understand the way that children's personalities are commentaries on the dual influence of parent figures. The seven children can said to be hesitant and socially moderate compared to their cousins.
The false mother
One could say that Violet is a pseudo-maternal character, but then again, that does not automatically imply that there is any political argument in the symbols. From the lens of feminism, the book can be taken as a more tribal, community-oriented family life where women can lift each other up by helping with each other's families. From the lens of the husband's skepticism about such changes in the home, we see the natural tragedy that the children feel toward their admittedly epic, but rather distant mother.
The story writer's arc
The book has an allegorical overtone. Though at times the book seems to be inviting criticism of Olive's character, the end result of the plot is that she realizes that her personality and behavior have pushed away her husband and children. She realizes this with an impressive philosophical breakthrough that inspires a whole new season of artwork for her. This reminds the reader that she is by character a storyteller. As a woman with that sense of destiny or vocation, she must reattempt the balance with new appreciation for the complex responsibilities of her life outside her work.
