What metaphors are used in Friend of My Youth: Stories by Alice Munro?

Nature, particularly weather, is commonly used as a metaphor for the pain and violence that are an inevitable part of life. In Pictures of the Ice, the harsh weather emphasizes the characters' struggles and their feelings of isolation. A snow storm traps Karin in the house when her baby is dying of meningitis, and a snow storm traps Austin inside just days before he is due to leave, threatening his escape. The storm isolates them physically, just as they are emotionally separated from the rest of the town, let down by the people they cared about the most.