The mind and heart are fragile items to toy with. "The Yellow Wallpaper" and "The Story of an Hour" show what happens when either is taken lightly, and what was expected from women at their time periods. Both show the hopes and desires and what happens when they are crushed.
Gilman uses the wallpaper of the room to convey the mental state of the woman being kept in the house. Chopin showed freedom through the patch of blue sky and the spring season of new life and rebirth. Both are symbols showing the inner feeling of the women portrayed.
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In "The Yellow Wallpaper", Gilman writes about how the woman loathed the wallpaper. As the story progressed she went from hating the wallpaper in the night and liking it in the day to liking it at night. This was showing her mind was slowing fading from bright to dull. In "The Story of an Hour", Chopin writes about the patch of blue sky and how she could feel something coming at her. The object coming at her was the oppression she dealt with from her husband and the blue patch was her small window of opportunity for freedom.
The patterns in the wallpaper in "The Yellow Wallpaper" during the day showed the wear and tear of innocence from the children that used the room from previous owners. At the same time the design on the paper showed the signs of chaos from the almost completely random design. The patterns by night reflected the womans feeling of being captured and smothered by her husband and colleagues. .
In "The Yellow Wallpaper", Gilman conveyed that love was enough for the woman to not fight back about the room she was in. Love also gave the reason for the husband to keep her in the room that he thought would do her well. The woman wanted to leave but her husband would not let her leave until she was better. Chopin showed that the woman loved her husband but not completely. The woman wanted to die when her husband was alive, showing that there was distress in her heart.