The Gift of the Magi

Tomorrow is Christmas Day, and Della has only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present. In O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi, that small sum becomes a practical measure of devotion: she wants something fine, rare, and worthy of him, yet their reduced income has left no room for such a purchase.

The James Dillingham Youngs live in an eight-dollar-a-week furnished flat. Jim's pay has fallen from thirty dollars to twenty, and the worn letter box and broken doorbell reflect the household's diminished circumstances. Their material poverty is set against two possessions in which they take exceptional pride. Jim owns a gold watch inherited from his father and grandfather; Della's long hair is her treasure. Comparisons with King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba give those ordinary valuables a playful, legendary scale.

The story's tension comes from the gap between what the couple can afford and what each believes the other deserves. O. Henry keeps the setting compact, allowing counted pennies, shabby furniture, and Della's sudden resolve before the mirror to carry the emotional action. Christmas gift-giving becomes a test of value itself, asking whether price, possession, sacrifice, and love can ever be made to balance like entries in a household account.