Thoughts on The Gift of the Magi by O Henry

Pennies saved one and two at a time

Seasons greetings, my fellow readers. I hope you enjoyed tucking into O Henry’s classic Christmas tale. I also hope it wasn’t too sweet for your palette! Fun fact – this story is the reason why fans leave $1.87 on O Henry’s grave when they visit it, which is gathered and donated to local libraries.

Here at Short Story Club, we like nothing more than to read a classic tale and analyse what made it so effective (or otherwise). Join us – it’s free and it always will be!

A journey through the story

The opening paragraph is almost perfect in my view. We see Della, our main character, staring at the $1.87, wishing she had more, and tomorrow is Christmas. There’s no mucking about. We’re placed at the heart of the story’s main problem straight away so we can feel for the character. She needs to buy a gift for her beloved Jim, and time’s running out. What will she do? We’re in the story and we’re already invested.

She has herself a wee sob at her dilemma and we get our first ‘zoom out’ in terms of a point of view shift. Our narrator, whoever they are, takes us on a small tour of the small home, painting a picture of a couple living near poverty, but hanging on. We are told that Jim used to make $30 a week, but now makes just $20 a week and times are harder.

The use of this distant viewpoint in the story gives it an almost fairy tale feel. We are watching the events unfold, not getting too close. We get the feeling that the narrator has a purpose for showing us this couple at this particular time.

We rejoin Della as she finishes her cry, looks out the window. And here is, what I think, is the best writing in the whole tale. It does the job to paint the inner life of Della and Jim more than the narrator has just done with their tour of the flat.

She stood by the window and looked out dully at a grey cat walking a grey fence in a grey backyard.

Everything all grey and rather dull. We get a real sense of longing here. If only they could get more money and live somewhere better. This whole sentence is a sigh. If only they didn’t have to scrape through week by week.

But her love for Jim is strong. She’ll get him a present at any cost, damn it. As she thinks on what to do about her situation, we’re introduced to the two prized possessions in their household. The Hair and The Watch (the items being capitalised throughout the rest of the tale is a nice touch).

She admires her hair in the ‘mirror’, and devises her plan. She goes down to the shops and sells her hair for $20. Now she has $21.87. She buys her Jim the perfect present, a fob chain for The Watch. The perfect gift for her perfect man to show off his prized possession.

“Please God, make him think I am still pretty.”

And she gets home. We feel her sadness kick in. Her long, rippling, shining hair is gone. She tries to fix what’s left, but it’s a mess. And Jim steps in. She prays that he won’t up and leave her on account of her looks.

And here’s another piece of writing well done, handled perfectly. O Henry really squeezes the tension in this moment. For Jim comes in, stony faced, plagued by his own conundrum which we find out later.

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.

We feel Della’s mounting inner turmoil here. Speak, Jim, speak. Say something, anything. O Henry could’ve said something simple like, He looked at her funny, but no. He plays it out and we feel every bit of Della’s anxiousness as she waits.

She can’t take it anymore, goes to him, pleads with him to still love her, her hair grows so fast, Jim. But he hasn’t even noticed the hair is gone. He’s rather dumbfounded, rather slow. Something is eating him, we feel in this section as it takes Della two attempts to go through what happened.

We get another ‘zoom out’ as we take a step back, almost pausing the action before any gifts are shared. And here we’re introduced to the concept of ‘the magi’ for the first time. It poses the question, Eight dollars a week or a million a year – what is the difference? And it leaves us in an almost mystical vapour as we get back to the story, wondering again who it is that is telling the tale.

They swap gifts, which is where the impact of the story comes from. She has sold her prize possession to pay for a fob chain for Jim’s Watch. But he has sold The Watch in order to pay for The Combs. They both have gifts that they can’t use, but it doesn’t matter. They are both happy.

Selflessness

Of course, the theme of this story is selflessness. Here we see two lovebirds who care so much for each other that they sell their most prized possessions to make each other happy. It doesn’t quite work out after they both buy gifts for The Hair or The Watch, but that doesn’t matter. Jim smiles, laughs it off, and they make dinner, the end.

Christmas has become so much about the stuff that it’s difficult to make such grand gestures these days (at least where I’m from).

Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.

Do we have it in ourselves to be as selfless as Della and Jim? Are we, too, capable of being as wise as the magi?

The thing with the Magi

The only thing that sticks for me in this tale is the whole ‘Magi’ thing. I’m not sure the story needs it. I think the actions of Della and Jim speak loud and clear without the framing device of the narrator and this thing about the magi.

For me, I prefer a deep point of view. Zooming in and out of the story via the narrator kind of sucks me out of the story a bit.

While the mistress of the home is gradually subsiding from the first stage to the second, take a look at the home.

This is what our narrator mentions early on. The fact that there’s a ‘stage’ gave me the feeling that this is a made-up story. I mean, of course it’s a made-up story, but I mean made-up and told from the point of view of the narrator, and had me thinking if Della and Jim are real, or just placed for the purpose of the magi’s tale. Maybe I’m overthinking it…

Festive cheese

Above all, the reason I really like this story is that it’s cheesy and heartfelt, perfect for this time of year, and a reminder of what’s important – the happiness and joy of those we love over ourselves.

This underlying message is what has resonated with readers since O Henry wrote the tale back in 1905. No matter how society changes, how we treat each other will always be a topic worth talking about. Such topics, or themes, are what make some stories last through the ages.

2025

Thank you for being a part of this club. Whether you’ve commented or not, I still appreciate the number of you who take part and read the tales (and read my bletherings!).

We’ll be taking a wee break, and I’ll post our next tale closer to the end of January.

So, have yourself a merry little Christmas, and I’ll see you on the other side.

May your shadow never grow less,

Paul O

PS - If you’re looking for something scary to read, check out my story, The Snow Ones, which has been produced by The Lunatics Project.