The main setting of both stories occurs in a room; however, these two rooms have very different atmospheres. In Chopin's story the light and peaceful environment depicted by the author supports the concept that Louise is going to live a new life in freedom after being told of the death of her husband, releasing her from his imposing will. She closes the door and sits on a comfortable armchair facing an open window. The trees are "aquiver with new life," the smell of rain is in the air, and a woman is singing. On the other hand, "The Yellow Wallpaper" is set in a room that induces the feeling of imprisonment. There are bars on the windows, a gate at the top of the stairs, "rings and things" in the walls, and the pattern in the wallpaper reminds her of bars with a woman trapped behind them. Even the bed is nailed to the floor. This setting helps Gilman to convey her theme of oppression of some women in marriage.
The main characters in these two stories have many similarities. Both women are in poor health (one has the bad heart condition and the other one suffers from depression) and succumb to a life led by their husbands. When Louise's sister tells her of her husband's death, she does it by way of "veiled hints that are revealed in half concealing" (Bedford 12). Louise remembers her husband having "tender hands" and a "face that had never looked save with love upon her" (Bedford 12). In "The Yellow Wallpaper" the protagonist is "taken all care of" (Wallpaper) by her husband John and his sister. She says of John, "He is very careful and loving and hardly lets me stir without special direction" (Wallpaper). It seems as if these men are very kind to their wives. However, both women suffer the submission and struggle to be in control of their own lives although they feel too week to act in response. Louise shows her weakness when she is in her room sniveling "as a child who has cried itself to sleep and continues to sob in its dreams" (Bedford 12).
