What doe the The Red Death symbolize

As the other person stated, Edgar uses several colors to symbolize The Red Death. Each of which representing different stages in life. However, the Red Death itself represents more than just death but it references the Bubonic Plague which is the disease that inspired the whole story. The message sent in the story is that regardless of your upper class or whether or not you can hide in the abbey, disease does not discriminate anyone. No matter what materialistic ballroom is around, everyone within it and outside of it are vulnerable to the disease

The stages they represent are birth (blue), youth (purple), adolescence (green), adulthood (orange), old age (white), imminent death (violet), and death itself (black/scarlet). The seventh room, which represents death, is the room into which Prospero chases the stranger.