Describe symbolism in Friend of My Youth: Stories by Alice Munro

In the story, Oh, What Avails, Joan says that her mother taught them that they were special, giving them the belief that they were better than everybody else. She taught them to watch the world and judge it, to laugh at it and criticize, and to think of themselves as somehow better. The stained glass through which Joan looks out at the world is symbolic of this attitude. It changes the colors of the world, distorting what she sees. It is no coincidence that the main color in the glass is red. Joan looks at the world through a red lens, seeing beautiful plants and colors changed to a blood red, a sinister, oppressive view.