There is one passage early in O. Henry's beautifully sentimental and gently humorous story, "The Gift of the Magi" that prefaces the point that both Della and Jim regard spiritual values such as love over material ones. For, O. Henry hyperbolically describes the pride that Della takes in her hair, as well as the pride that Jim has in his watch:
Now there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride. One was Jim's gold watch....the other was Della's hair. Had the Queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the air shaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window someday to dry, just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his tresures 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.
Now, this passage proves that Della and Jim do, indeed, value greatly their material possessions. Yet, as much as they value these, their spousal love supercedes this pride. With only the slightest hesitation, Della sacrifices her most valued material possession for the happiness of her husband, Jim. For, she understands that spiritual values are the real, true values. When Jim receives his watch fob, he does not bemoan the loss of watch that he has sacrificed for Della's gift. Instead, he only parenthetically mentions it as of little importance,
"Della,...let's put our Christmas presents away and keep 'em awhile. They're too nice to use just at the present. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs. And now suppose you put the chops on."
This touching story stands as a great model for readers in modern society who would measure a person's worth by his/her material possessions. Indeed, it is the truth that lies behind O. Henry's fiction.
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