"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry (1905)
Author: O. Henry
Henry, O. “The Gift of the Magi.” The Voice of the City: Further Stories of the Four Million, Doubleday, Page & Company for P.F. Collier & Son, Garden City, NY, 1906.
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one's cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three time Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.
There was clearly nothing left to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.
While the mistress of the home is gradually subsiding from the first stage to the second, take a look at the home. A furnished flat at $8 per week. It did not exactly beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the look-out for the mendicancy squad.
In the vestibule below was a letter-box into which no letter would go, and an electric button from which no mortal finger could coax a ring. Also appertaining thereunto was a card bearing the name "Mr. James Dillingham Young."
The "Dillingham" had been flung to the breeze during a former period of prosperity when its possessor was being paid $30 per week. Now, when the income was shrunk to $20, the letters of "Dillingham" looked blurred, as though they were thinking seriously of contracting to a modest and unassuming D. But whenever Mr. James Dillingham Young came home and reached his flat above he was called "Jim" and greatly hugged by Mrs. James Dillingham Young, already introduced to you as Della. Which is all very good.
Della finished her cry and attended to her cheeks with the powder rag. She stood by the window and looked out dully at a grey cat walking a grey fence in a grey backyard. To-morrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present. She had been saving every penny she could for months, with this result. Twenty dollars a week doesn't go far. Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. They always are. Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim. Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him. Something fine and rare and sterling--something just a little bit near to being worthy of the honour of being owned by Jim.
There was a pier-glass between the windows of the room. Perhaps you have seen a pier-glass in an $8 Bat. A very thin and very agile person may, by observing his reflection in a rapid sequence of longitudinal strips, obtain a fairly accurate conception of his looks. Della, being slender, had mastered the art.
Suddenly she whirled from the window and stood before the glass. Her eyes were shining brilliantly, but her face had lost its colour within twenty seconds. Rapidly she pulled down her hair and let it fall to its full length.
Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride. One was Jim's gold watch that had been his father's and his grandfather's. The other was Della's hair. Had the Queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out of the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him pluck at his beard from envy.
So now Della's beautiful hair fell about her, rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters. It reached below her knee and made itself almost a garment for her. And then she did it up again nervously and quickly. Once she faltered for a minute and stood still while a tear or two splashed on the worn red carpet.
On went her old brown jacket; on went her old brown hat. With a whirl of skirts and with the brilliant sparkle still in her eyes, she cluttered out of the door and down the stairs to the street.
Where she stopped the sign read: "Mme Sofronie. Hair Goods of All Kinds." One Eight up Della ran, and collected herself, panting. Madame, large, too white, chilly, hardly looked the "Sofronie."
"Will you buy my hair?" asked Della.
"I buy hair," said Madame. "Take yer hat off and let's have a sight at the looks of it."
Down rippled the brown cascade.
"Twenty dollars," said Madame, lifting the mass with a practised hand.
"Give it to me quick" said Della.
Oh, and the next two hours tripped by on rosy wings. Forget the hashed metaphor. She was ransacking the stores for Jim's present.
She found it at last. It surely had been made for Jim and no one else. There was no other like it in any of the stores, and she had turned all of them inside out. It was a platinum fob chain simple and chaste in design, properly proclaiming its value by substance alone and not by meretricious ornamentation--as all good things should do. It was even worthy of The Watch. As soon as she saw it she knew that it must be Jim's. It was like him. Quietness and value--the description applied to both. Twenty-one dollars they took from her for it, and she hurried home with the 78 cents. With that chain on his watch Jim might be properly anxious about the time in any company. Grand as the watch was, he sometimes looked at it on the sly on account of the old leather strap that he used in place of a chain.
When Della reached home her intoxication gave way a little to prudence and reason. She got out her curling irons and lighted the gas and went to work repairing the ravages made by generosity added to love. Which is always a tremendous task dear friends--a mammoth task.
Within forty minutes her head was covered with tiny, close-lying curls that made her look wonderfully like a truant schoolboy. She looked at her reflection in the mirror long, carefully, and critically.
"If Jim doesn't kill me," she said to herself, "before he takes a second look at me, he'll say I look like a Coney Island chorus girl. But what could I do--oh! what could I do with a dollar and eighty-seven cents?"
At 7 o'clock the coffee was made and the frying-pan was on the back of the stove hot and ready to cook the chops.
Jim was never late. Della doubled the fob chain in her hand and sat on the corner of the table near the door that he always entered. Then she heard his step on the stair away down on the first flight, and she turned white for just a moment. She had a habit of saying little silent prayers about the simplest everyday things, and now she whispered: "Please, God, make him think I am still pretty."
The door opened and Jim stepped in and closed it. 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 with out gloves.
Jim stepped inside the door, as immovable as a setter at the scent of quail. His eyes were fixed upon Della, and there was an expression in them that she could not read, and it terrified her. It was not anger, nor surprise, nor disapproval, nor horror, nor any of the sentiments that she had been prepared for. He simply stared at her fixedly with that peculiar expression on his face.
Della wriggled off the table and went for him.
"Jim, darling," she cried, "don't look at me that way. I had my hair cut off and sold it because I couldn't have lived through Christmas without giving you a present. It'll grow out again--you won't mind, will you? I just had to do it. My hair grows awfully fast. Say 'Merry Christmas!' Jim, and let's be happy. You don't know what a nice-what a beautiful, nice gift I've got for you."
"You've cut off your hair?" asked Jim, laboriously, as if he had not arrived at that patent fact yet, even after the hardest mental labour.
"Cut it off and sold it," said Della. "Don't you like me just as well, anyhow? I'm me without my hair, ain't I?"
Jim looked about the room curiously.
"You say your hair is gone?" he said, with an air almost of idiocy.
"You needn't look for it," said Della. "It's sold, I tell you--sold and gone, too. It's Christmas Eve, boy. Be good to me, for it went for you. Maybe the hairs of my head were numbered," she went on with a sudden serious sweetness, "but nobody could ever count my love for you. Shall I put the chops on, Jim?"
Out of his trance Jim seemed quickly to wake. He enfolded his Della. For ten seconds let us regard with discreet scrutiny some inconsequential object in the other direction. Eight dollars a week or a million a year--what is the difference? A mathematician or a wit would give you the wrong answer. The magi brought valuable gifts, but that was not among them. This dark assertion will be illuminated later on.
Jim drew a package from his overcoat pocket and threw it upon the table.
"Don't make any mistake, Dell," he said, "about me. I don't think there's anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less. But if you'll unwrap that package you may see why you had me going a while at first."
White fingers and nimble tore at the string and paper. And then an ecstatic scream of joy; and then, alas! a quick feminine change to hysterical tears and wails, necessitating the immediate employment of all the comforting powers of the lord of the flat.
For there lay The Combs--the set of combs, side and back, that Della had worshipped for long in a Broadway window. Beautiful combs, pure tortoise-shell, with jewelled rims--just the shade to wear in the beautiful vanished hair. They were expensive combs, she knew, and her heart had simply craved and yearned over them without the least hope of possession. And now, they were hers, but the tresses that should have adorned the coveted adornments were gone.
But she hugged them to her bosom, and at length she was able to look up with dim eyes and a smile and say: "My hair grows so fast, Jim!"
And then Della leaped up like a little singed cat and cried, "Oh, oh!"
Jim had not yet seen his beautiful present. She held it out to him eagerly upon her open palm. The dull precious metal seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent spirit.
"Isn't it a dandy, Jim? I hunted all over town to find it. You'll have to look at the time a hundred times a day now. Give me your watch. I want to see how it looks on it."
Instead of obeying, Jim tumbled down on the couch and put his hands under the back of his head and smiled.
"Dell," said he, "let's put our Christmas presents away and keep 'em a while. They're too nice to use just at present. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs. And now suppose you put the chops on."
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. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.
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In the first two paragraphs of “The Gift of the Magi,” the narrator introduces Della and mentions that she has only one dollar and eighty-seven cents to her name. Della is concerned about this small amount of money, as it is the day before Christmas and she wants to buy a present for her husband. The mystery that remains unresolved at this point in the story is what Della will do with the small amount of money she has. It is not clear how she will be able to afford a present for her husband with such a limited budget. Della’s traits, including her determination and resourcefulness, suggest that she will likely come up with a creative solution to her problem.
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What do you think Della will do with the small amount of money she has? How do you think she will be able to afford a present for her husband with such a limited budget? Do you agree with ChatGPT that Della will likely come up with a creative solution? Why or why not?New Conversation
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In the next three paragraphs of “The Gift of the Magi,” the narrator provides some background information about Della and Jim’s living situation. They live in a furnished flat that is not in the best condition, and they are struggling financially. The narrator mentions that Jim used to make more money and had a longer last name, but now he only makes $20 per week and his last name appears to be “blurred,” as if it is considering contracting to a shorter version. The mystery that remains unresolved at this point in the story is how Della and Jim will be able to afford Christmas presents for each other, given their limited budget. Jim’s traits, including his affection for Della and his willingness to work hard to provide for her, suggest that he may be willing to do whatever it takes to make sure she has a happy holiday.
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How do you think Della and Jim will be able to afford Christmas presents for each other, given their limited budget. And do you agree with ChatGPT that Jim will be willing to do whatever it takes to make sure Della has a happy holiday?New Conversation
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In the next three paragraphs of “The Gift of the Magi,” Della reflects on her financial situation and the difficulty of finding a suitable Christmas present for Jim with only $1.87 to spend. She has been saving money for months and had hoped to be able to buy something “fine and rare and sterling” for Jim, but her expenses have been greater than she anticipated. Della stands in front of a pier-glass and notices that her hair has lost its color within a short period of time. The mystery that remains unresolved at this point in the story is what Della will do to find a suitable Christmas present for Jim given her limited budget. Della’s thoughts suggest that she is considering different options and is determined to find a way to make Jim happy on Christmas Day.
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What do you think Della might do to find a suitable Christmas present for Jim given her limited budget? Do you agree with ChatGPT that Della is determined to find a way to make Jim happy on Christmas day?New Conversation
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The ninth paragraph of “The Gift of the Magi” introduces two new elements to the story: Jim’s gold watch and Della’s hair. Both of these possessions are sources of pride for Jim and Della, and the narrator suggests that they value them highly. The mystery that remains unresolved at this point in the story is how Della will be able to afford a suitable Christmas present for Jim given her limited budget. The mention of Jim’s gold watch and Della’s hair may hint at a potential solution to this problem, but it is not clear at this point how these possessions will play a role in the resolution of the story.
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Do you agree with ChatGPT that The mention of Jim’s gold watch and Della’s hair may hint at a potential solution to what they could get each other for Christmas? How do you think these possessions could play a role in the resolution of the story?New Conversation
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In the next three paragraphs of “The Gift of the Magi,” Della is described as standing in front of a mirror, letting her hair fall to its full length and then quickly doing it up again. She is described as crying and wearing an old brown jacket and hat before leaving her home and running to a store called “Mme Sofronie.” The mystery that remains unresolved at this point in the story is what Della will do with her hair and why she is visiting Mme Sofronie. It is not clear how these events will contribute to the resolution of the story’s central mystery, which is how Della will be able to afford a suitable Christmas present for her husband given her limited budget.
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What do you think Della will do with her hair? Why is she visiting Mme Sofronie? What can you guess about how these events might contribute to the resolution of the story’s central mystery, which is how Della will be able to afford a suitable Christmas present for her husband given her limited budget?New Conversation
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In the dialogue that appears in paragraphs 13-17 of “The Gift of the Magi,” Della visits Mme Sofronie and asks if she will buy her hair. Mme Sofronie agrees and offers to pay twenty dollars for it. Della agrees and asks for the money quickly. The mystery that remains unresolved at this point in the story is what Della will do with the money she receives for her hair and how it will contribute to the resolution of the story’s central mystery, which is how Della will be able to afford a suitable Christmas present for her husband given her limited budget. It is not clear at this point how selling her hair will help Della to achieve this goal.
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What do you think Della will do with the money she receives for her hair? How do you think it will contribute to the resolution of the story’s central mystery, which is how Della will be able to afford a suitable Christmas present for her husband given her limited budget? Do you have any guesses, at this point, how selling her hair will help Della to achieve this goal?New Conversation
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In paragraphs 18-22 of “The Gift of the Magi,” Della spends the next two hours shopping for a present for Jim and eventually finds a platinum fob chain that she believes is perfect for him. She pays twenty-one dollars for it and hurries home with the 78 cents she has left. Once she is home, she uses curling irons to style her hair and is worried about how Jim will react to the changes in her appearance. The mystery that remains unresolved at this point in the story is how Jim will react to the present and whether it will fulfill Della’s hopes for it. Additionally, a new mystery is introduced: how Jim will react to the changes in Della’s appearance. It is not clear at this point how either of these mysteries will be resolved.
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How do you think Jim might react to the present? How do you think Jim might react to the changes in Della’s appearance?New Conversation
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In paragraphs 23-26 of “The Gift of the Magi,” Della sits waiting for Jim to come home and prays that he will still find her attractive despite the changes in her appearance. When he arrives, he looks thin and serious and seems to be staring at Della with an expression that she cannot interpret. This expression is described as being neither anger, surprise, disapproval, nor horror, but rather something that terrifies Della because she cannot understand it. The mystery that remains unresolved at this point in the story is how Jim will react to the present and whether it will fulfill Della’s hopes for it. Additionally, a new mystery is introduced: the meaning of the strange expression on Jim’s face when he sees Della. It is not clear at this point how either of these mysteries will be resolved.
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How do you think Jim will react to the present? What do you think are the meanings behind the strange expression on Jim’s face when he sees Della? What do you think might happen next?New Conversation
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In paragraphs 27-33 of “The Gift of the Magi,” Della explains to Jim that she sold her hair in order to buy him a present and begs him to be happy and say “Merry Christmas.” Jim seems to have difficulty understanding that Della’s hair is gone and looks around the room as if searching for it. Della reassures him that it is sold and gone and that he should love her for who she is, not just for her hair. She also tells him that her love for him is immeasurable and offers to cook the chops for dinner. The mystery that remains unresolved at this point in the story is how Jim will react to the present and whether it will fulfill Della’s hopes for it. Additionally, a new mystery is introduced: the cause of Jim’s strange behavior and difficulty in understanding that Della’s hair is gone. It is not clear at this point how either of these mysteries will be resolved.
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After this, how do you think Jim will react to the present? Do you think his reaction will be what Delia hoped for? What can you guess about the cause of Jim’s strange behavior and difficulty in understanding that Della’s hair is gone? What do you think might happen now?New Conversation
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In paragraph 34 of “The Gift of the Magi,” Jim seems to snap out of his trance and embraces Della. The narrator then encourages the reader to look away for ten seconds, before suggesting that the magi’s gifts were not valuable in the traditional sense. This implies that there may be a deeper meaning or value to the gifts that the characters give each other, which remains a mystery at this point in the story. The mystery that remains unresolved at this point in the story is how Jim will react to the present and whether it will fulfill Della’s hopes for it. Additionally, a new mystery is introduced: the true value or meaning of the gifts that the characters give to each other. It is not clear at this point how either of these mysteries will be resolved.
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Do you agree with ChatGPT that the reference to what the Magi did not bring may imply that there is a deeper meaning or value to the gifts that the characters give each other? What do you think this deeper value or meaning is? At this point — after Jim snaps out of his trance — what do you think his reaction will be to Della’s gift?New Conversation
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In these paragraphs of “The Gift of the Magi,” Jim presents Della with a set of combs that she had admired in a store window, but Della is initially upset because she has recently cut off her long hair and sold it to buy Jim a present. Despite her initial disappointment, Della is eventually able to smile and tell Jim that her hair grows quickly, implying that she is not too disappointed by the loss of her hair. The mystery that remains unresolved in this part of the story is what Jim’s reaction will be to Della’s gift and whether it will fulfill her hopes for it. Additionally, a new mystery is introduced: the true value or meaning of the gifts that the characters give to each other. It is not clear at this point how either of these mysteries will be resolved.
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After Jim has given his gift to Della, what do you think his reaction will be to Della’s gift? Will it make him happy the way she hopes? What do you think the true value or meaning is of the gifts that the characters give to each other? Do you think they will recognize this?New Conversation
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In these paragraphs, Della is excited to show Jim the gift she bought for him, a platinum fob chain for his watch. However, when she holds it out to him, he doesn’t take it but instead lies down on the couch and smiles. This leaves Della confused and possibly worried that he doesn’t like the gift. This is the mystery that remains unresolved in this part of the story.
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What are some guesses you might have for why Jim doesn’t take Della’s gift, but instead lies down on the couch and smiles? What do you think Della is thinking when this happens?New Conversation
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A beautiful ending for both of them like basketball stars although there are moments of quarrel, but after the challenges, they are still together.
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In the final paragraphs of “The Gift of the Magi,” it is revealed that Jim sold his gold watch to buy Della a set of combs for her hair, while Della sold her long, beautiful hair to buy Jim a platinum fob chain for his watch. Both of them sacrificed their most prized possessions in order to give each other a meaningful gift, showing their love and devotion to one another. The story ends with a reflection on the wise men, or magi, who brought gifts to the baby Jesus, and suggests that Della and Jim are similarly wise in their selfless acts of gift-giving. The mystery of what each of them had done with their respective possessions has been resolved, and the story ends on a poignant note that celebrates the power of love and the importance of selflessness.
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Do you agree with ChatGPT that the story ends on a poignant note that celebrates the power of love and the importance of selflessness? What else might you add? What does this make you think about people who you love and who love you and the importance of selflessness in your life?New Conversation
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