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The Gift of the Magi

The Gift of the Magi is a short story authored by O. Henry, and it revolves around the lives of a young, poor couple Jim and his wife, Della. The young couple lives in a modest apartment and has very little money. The only valuable possession they had was Della’s long hair and Jim’s gold pocket watch, which belonged to his family. The story takes place just before Christmas, where both of them are contemplating the gifts to get one another. Della is sad because she only has one dollar and eighty seven-cents, which is not enough to purchase any valuable present for Jim. She therefore settles with selling her hair, so that she could buy Jim a watch chain. On the other hand, Jim also wants to impress Della that he sells his valuable watch to buy the tortoiseshell combs that she always wanted for her hair. In the beginning, they both believe that the only way they can make each other happy is by purchasing extravagant gifts. However, in the end, their feeling about gifts change. The couple does not hesitate to lose their valuable possessions to please each other, which makes them realize that the wealth of love they have for one another is even more essential than their lack of funds.

The young couple shows the true expression of love by selling their most prized possessions and by showing selfless consideration for their loved one. The relationship between Jim and Della can be described as reciprocal, selfish, and profound. Their relationship is not based in inconsequential or trivial qualities. Even though Jim had his wages cut by a third after they got married, she did not love him any less. The qualities that define these two young individuals remain unchanged throughout the short story. At the beginning of the story, O. Henry describes the young couple using their poverty and their unselfish love for one another, something that is still constant at the end of the story. Even after their realization that the love they had for each other was more important than their lack of funds, nothing changes between them as they continue being committed to making each other happy as they did in the beginning.

Della can be described as a warm, loving, and selfless woman, who appears to be the dominant character in the story. In the story, she is portrayed as a poor homemaker, who spends most of her days inside a cramped flat. However, it is evident that she lives for one thing, which is her husband. Throughout the story, it is clear that she loved her husband so much that she spent so much time thinking of the best gift that she could get him for Christmas. Even though Jim is not bringing the same amount of money he brought after they were married, Della still loves him completely, and she believes that he deserved the best. Della is willing to go to any lengths to ensure that her husband has gotten what he deserves for Christmas (Lin 50). At this point, one can argue that Della believes that only an extravagant gift can impress his husband. Even though she is worried that Jim might not like her as he did before for cutting her hair short, she still cuts it to obtain money for purchasing the gift.

Jim also has a similar perception to that of Della, that only an extravagant gift would make his wife happy. However, as the story comes to an end, his attitude also changes after they are left with gifts they cannot use. He also reaches to the agreement that the only thing that is constant to them is the love they have for each other. From the story, it is evident that Jim was not doing great. O. Henry describes him saying, “He looked thin and very serious. Poor fellow, he was only twenty-two and to be burdened with a family! He needed a new overcoat, and he was without gloves (Henry 4).” He is the breadwinner for the family, and even though he works for long hours, the salary is not enough for them. The two are struggling to survive and pay for their small flat’s expenses. However, just like his wife, one thing keeps him going; his love for Della. Even though the author does not dwell on Jim’s character so much, it is evident from the sacrifice he made that he loved his wife. He gives up a possession that belonged to his grandfather and father, to purchase something that would please the woman he loved so much. However, at the end of the story, they both change their perceptions on the extravagant gifts, what they needed was the love they had for each other.

Another change that appears in the story is Della’s physical appearance. Her hair is used in describing her beauty. She is described as a character who had beautiful long brown hair, which reached down below her knees. The author compares Della’s hair to a brown waterfall (Carrier 20). However, to make money for Jim’s gift, she had to make a sacrifice, and cut her hair short. She is however afraid of Jim’s reaction on realizing that she had cut her hair (Henry 5). After Jim enters the house and stares at her with a peculiar expression, she is only worried about her husband’s displeasure. However, cutting her hair does not change Jim’s feelings towards her, he is not angry with her for cutting her hair because both of them had done the same thing; sold what they valued the most for the other.

Conclusively, at the beginning of the story, it is evident that the two principal characters of the story believe that the only way to impress each other was by purchasing extravagant gifts. Therefore, they both settle with selling their most valuable possessions to get good gifts. Della cuts her hair short and sells it, while Jim sells his expensive watch. However, in the end, they are both left with items they cannot use, which makes them realize that the love they had for each other was more important than any material possessions.

Works Cited

Carrier, James. “Gifts in a world of commodities: the ideology of the perfect gift in American society.” Social Analysis: The International Journal of Social and Cultural Practice 29 (1990): 19-37.

Henry, Oh. The Gift of the Magi. Pioneer Drama Service, Inc., 1977.

Henry, Ossian. The gift of the Magi and other short stories. Courier Corporation, 2012.

Lin, Tai-An. “A study of metacognition on O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi”.” Asian Social Science 6.4 (2010): 49-54.