The mother doesn't really seem to do very much in the story at all. She isn't even given a name -- she's just "the children's mother" who had a "face [...] as broad an innocent as a cabbage [...]." She's compared to both a vegetable here, and then a rabbit in the next line, as a result of the way she has tied her kerchief with "two points on the top like a rabbit's ears." ...
The mother doesn't really seem to do very much in the story at all. She isn't even given a name -- she's just "the children's mother" who had a "face [...] as broad an innocent as a cabbage [...]." She's compared to both a vegetable here, and then a rabbit in the next line, as a result of the way she has tied her kerchief with "two points on the top like a rabbit's ears." When we say that someone is a vegetable, it's because they seem to have no life force or will of their own. Then, to compare her to a rabbit seems to emphasize her role as a breeder, as rabbits are known for their frequent and sizeable litters of babies. Thus, the mother's main function is her role as a mother, and that's it.
In the accident, the mother is thrown from the car but seems relatively unhurt. However, even after her husband and son have been led away and killed, the mother seems numb, replying "'Yes, thank you,'" when asked if she would like to join them with her remaining children. She's just a sort of non-entity, without will or opinion or voice.
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