how does the setting affect the mood of the story

the setting of the story affects the mood by the intense cold.The way his father died is by taking off his gloves to start a fire because he fell into the river that was covered in thin ice.Which can affect the son and the stepmother and other siblings.With how careful they have to be one thing done wrong and they all can die with the son at the house by himself because the stepmother and other kids go somewhere and still have not come back he may be having the feeling he is all alone the feeling that there dead and the feeling of regret.