The Gift of the Magi
1906
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That's all Della has to buy Christmas for the man she loves. In a cramped New York flat at the turn of the century, she makes a decision that will cost her everything she has: her long, copper-brown hair, which she chops off and sells for twenty dollars to buy a platinum fob chain for her husband's beloved watch. What Della doesn't know is that Jim has made an equally devastating choice, sacrificing his watch to buy her combs for that same hair. O. Henry's masterpiece is a perfect machine of emotional irony, each gift rendered useless by the other's sacrifice, yet somehow more meaningful than anything money could buy. The story operates on two levels: a tender portrait of young love struggling against poverty, and a quiet meditation on what it means to give truly. By the time the gifts are unwrapped, both characters understand something essential about devotion that no amount of money could teach them. It is, in the end, a story about the absurdity and beauty of love expressed through loss.
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“Life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.””
— O. Henry
“The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. O all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.””
— O. Henry
“Life is full of sniffles sobs and smiles. With sniffles predominating.””
— O. Henry
“There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl.””
— O. Henry
“But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.””
— O. Henry
“Will you buy my hair?””
— O. Henry
“Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him. Something fine and rare and sterling”
— O. Henry
“Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.””
— O. Henry
“And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest.””
— O. Henry
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Henry, O.. The Gift of the Magi. Lex, lex-books.com/book/the-gift-of-the-magi-da057e0f-65a7-4a71-a5e6-3b82d221e8b2.Henry, O. (1906). The Gift of the Magi. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/the-gift-of-the-magi-da057e0f-65a7-4a71-a5e6-3b82d221e8b2Henry, O.. The Gift of the Magi. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/the-gift-of-the-magi-da057e0f-65a7-4a71-a5e6-3b82d221e8b2.
