[The Woman:] No, I'm speaking the truth. Sooner or later they will catch us and they will kill us. They will rape me. They'll rape him. They are going to rape us and kill us and eat us and you wont face it. [. . .]. We used to talk about death, she said. We dont anymore. Why is that?
[The Man:] I dont know.
[The Woman:] It's because it's here. There's nothing left to talk about. (93.12-93.14)
The Boy's mother states (pretty confidently) the habits of the "bloodcults" roaming the roads. They rape, steal, and murder without discretion. Not to mention the fact that they're cannibals. The world has become predictably violent, meaning that The Woman is able to say with absolute certainty what these "bloodcults" will do if given the chance. The Man doesn't argue with her.
[The Man:] Will you tell him [The Boy] goodbye?
[The Woman:] No. I will not.
[The Man:] Just wait till morning. Please.
[The Woman:] I have to go.
She had already stood up.
[The Man:] For the love of God, woman. What am I to tell him?
[The Woman:] I cant help you.
[The Man:] Where are you going to go? You cant even see.
[The Woman:] I dont have to.
He stood up. I'm begging you, he said.
[The Woman:] No. I will not. I cannot. (93.25-93.35)
Ouch. The Boy's mother leaves without so much as a good-bye. We think this passage functions as a barometer of how bad things get in The Road. It's not that The Boy's mother is really cruel (OK, maybe she's a little cruel) but that the world now strikes her as incredibly hopeless. She chooses not to fight against that hopelessness. Of course, The Boy still has his father's love, but you can imagine the absence The Boy must feel because his mother leaves so suddenly.
[The Woman:] You can think of me as a faithless slut if you like. I've taken a new lover. He can give me what you cannot.
[The Man:] Death is not a lover.
Is the woman in The Man's dream a deathly bride? Is she tempting him to follow her into suicide? Is this "pale bride" his wife's ghost, or a memory of his wedding? We're not sure. But she seems like bad news and somehow connected to the icy landscape.