THE GIFT OF THE MAGI
by O. Henry, 1906

A prolific writer, O. Henry turned out more than 250 short stories between 1899 and 1910. These stories have been widely read and enjoyed throughout the world, and even though in the eyes of some they may not be considered first-rate literature, they have become a significant part of the short story genre. "The Gift of the Magi," collected in The Four Million (1906), stands as a clear example of O. Henry's mastery of the sentimental story with the surprise ending.

More a short short story, "The Gift of the Magi" covers only a few pages, but it has a variety of appeals to popular and traditional sentiment. The two main characters, Della and Jim, are a happily married couple living near the edge of poverty in a flat renting for eight dollars a week. Each has the problem of trying to figure out how to buy a Christmas present for the other, and how they solve their mutual problem is the essence of the story.

"One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies." Thus does O. Henry pique the interest of the reader at the opening of the story, and thus does Della Dillingham Young ponder on Christmas Eve how to get a present worthy of her husband. Catching a reflection of herself in a strip of pier glass between the windows of the flat, Della finds her inspiration. O. Henry quickly points out here that Della and Jim each has a prized possession: she has beautiful long hair that ripples and shines "like a cascade of brown waters," and he has a gold watch that was his father's and his grandfather's before that. Della's inspiration is to sell her hair and to use the money to buy Jim a fob chain for his watch. With the $20 she receives for her hair, she ransacks the stores to find a chain she knows Jim will be proud of.

Della's excitement about her gift for Jim fades a bit when she wonders how her husband will like her new hairstyle—"tiny, close-lying curls that made her look wonderfully like a truant schoolboy." When he arrives home, she runs to his arms, explaining what she has done and assuring him that her hair will grow back quickly. Momentarily stunned, Jim takes a small package from his coat pocket and throws it on the table, telling Della that nothing could change his feelings for her. When Della opens the package, she is astonished to find the set of combs she had long been worshiping in a Broadway store window—"pure tortoise shell, with jewelled rims—just the shade to wear in the beautiful vanished hair." Again reminding Jim that her hair grows fast, Della gives Jim his present. When he opens it, she asks for his watch so that they can see how it will look with the new fob. Jim's response is to tumble down on the couch with his hands behind his head, saying that they should put their presents away and "keep 'em for a while. They're too nice to use just as presents. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs."

And so the story ends, with O. Henry making the moral point that, although Della and Jim may have unwisely sacrificed their greatest treasures for each other, yet "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."

If short stories can be divided between those considered to be quality works and those celebrated for their craft or commercial success, "The Gift of the Magi" falls into the latter category. And surely the reader of the story sees clearly the craftsmanship of O. Henry. Utilizing a plot of very little action and two characters about whom little is told, he presents a story of foreshadowing, suspense, and surprise that holds the reader to the end. Focusing on the precarious financial situation of Della and Jim and on their love for each other, he tells the reader only what is necessary to elicit sympathy for the couple. Della's predicament at the opening of the story is mundane enough, as is her crying about it, for as O. Henry points out, "Life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating." And it is Della's story until near the end, when Jim comes home. We are shown explicitly the love and loyalty she feels for her husband, but we can only wonder whether these feelings are returned. As Della waits in both anticipation and some trepidation for Jim's arrival, so too does the reader. With the ending of the suspense, of course, there comes the surprise that each character has given up the one thing that the other hoped to embellish.

To be sure, "The Gift of the Magi" is a sentimental story with a surprise ending, a type that is now passé. As an example of this type of story, however, it stands on its merits. But more than that, in its stark simplicity "The Gift of the Magi" touches a common cord of understanding of, and yearning for, the basic relationship of mutual love and sacrifice exhibited by Della and Jim. Indeed, in the story's final words, "They are the Magi."

—Wilton Eckley