The Gift of the Magi – Literary Analysis

Setting

Gift of the Magi was written in 1910. We are told that it is Christmas Eve, and can see from the description of the building that Jim and Della live in that it is a poor neighborhood. The major hint as to which city they live in is that Della had worshiped the combs in a Broadway window. Although there are “Broadways” in a number of US cities, we can assume that this one is in New York because of the additional reference to a Coney Island chorus girl. The year is most likely somewhere between 1906 and 1910. The flat is old but has electric buttons in the entry area downstairs. Electricity first became widely available in New York City in the 1890s, suggesting that the story takes place sometime after 1900. Jim has just had a large cut in pay. The U.S. economy performed strongly from the late 1890s until 1906. It then suffered a major economic downturn, which lead to a financial crisis in 1907.

Point of View and Tone

The story is told in the third person by a limited omniscient narrator. The narrator tells us Della’s thoughts, but no one else’s. As well as relating the story of Jim and Della, he/she also shares some personal views: Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.

The tone of the narrator towards Bella and Jim is understanding and sympathetic. Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. They always are. …Poor fellow, he was only twenty-two – and to be burdened with a family!. The tone of the narrator towards the reader is playful and philosophical: 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.

Themes

The main themes of the story are Unselfish Love, Sacrifice and Wisdom. Jim and Della show their unselfish love by giving up their most valued possession to buy each other something special for Christmas. At the end of the story, the narrator refers to them as both unwise and the wisest. They are unwise because it is not necessary to give expensive gifts when you are poor and so much in love; they are the wisest because they thought only of the other person and not of themselves when they bought their gifts.

There are several possible minor themes in the story. These are:

Beauty: Della is worried that Jim won’t think she is beautiful with short hair. She thinks she looks like a truant schoolboy and that, even worse, Jim will think she looks like a Coney Island chorus girl. The reference to Coney Island is important here. Coney Island was a notorious red-light district at the time, and chorus girls were expected to come down into the hall and “sit” with men after performing. Jim, of course, proves Della wrong. Interestingly, we aren’t told what Jim thinks of her new look. After he gets over the shock, all he says about it is: I don’t think there’s anything… that could make me like my girl any less. The message here is that if you really love somebody, they are beautiful to you no matter how they look.
Generosity: Della and Jim both feel that it is important to give nice gifts to each other to express their love. In the last paragraph the narrator calls them two foolish children because of this, as it should not be necessary to buy expensive gifts to prove your love. We learn enough of Della’s character to see that she would have been very happy with anything that Jim gave her. I think we can also safely conclude that Jim would have been happy with the pair of gloves we are told that he needed… and which Della probably could have bought with her $1.87!
Value: Sometimes the things that we hold dear are worth a lot more to us than their commercial value. Della must have been growing her hair for many years. It was her pride and joy. However to Madame Sofronie, it was just “hair”… worth no more than one month of Jim’s wages. Jim’s gold watch was his only family heirloom, handed down to him from from his grandfather and father. We don’t know how much he got when he sold it, but it was probably much less than its sentimental value.

Characters and Conflicts

The Protagonists: Della, determined, devoted, emotional, excitable, impulsive, loving, selfless, warm and Jim, devoted, proud, reliable, selfless, serious
The Antagonist: Poverty, the state of being in which Della and Jim live.
Minor Character: Madame Sofronie, cold, professional
Internal Conflicts: Jim and Della’s decisions about whether to sell their most prized possessions.
External Conflict: Jim and Della’s struggle against poverty. (Man vs. Society)

Dramatic Structure and Moods

Exposition: Della at home thinking about Christmas. One dollar and eighty- seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas. She stood by the window and looked out dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard. Mood: Sad and Hopeless
Rising Action: 1. Della’s decision to sell her hair. With a whirl of skirts and with the brilliant sparkle still in her eyes, she fluttered out the door and down the stairs to the street. Mood: Hopeful. 2. Della shopping for Jim’s gift. The next two hours tripped by on rosy wings. Mood: Joyous 3. Della at home waiting for Jim. If Jim doesn’t kill me… he’ll say I look like a Coney Island chorus girl. Mood: Nervous 4. Jim comes home and sees Della’s hair. His eyes were fixed upon Della, and there was an expression in them that… terrified her. Mood: Suspenseful
Climax: Jim hugs Della. Out of his trance Jim seemed quickly to wake. He enfolded his Della. Mood: Uplifting
Falling Action: Jim gives Della the combs. She hugged them to her bosom, and at length she was able to look up with dim eyes and a smile. Mood: Warm:
Denouement: Jim tells Della about selling the watch. Jim tumbled down on the couch and put his hands under the back of his head and smiled. Mood: Amusing and Happy

Examples of Literary Techniques

Alliteration: 1. sudden serious sweetness 2. sobs, sniffles, and smiles
Allusion: The references to the King and Queen of Sheba and King Solomon in the story.
Foreshadowing: Now, there were two possessions… 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.
Hyperbole: 1. Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he (King Solomon) passed, just to see him pluck at his beard from envy. 2. It (the fob chain) surely had been made for Jim and no one else.
Imagery: Della looked out dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard.
Irony: The exchange of the precious gifts that could not be used. (Situational)
Metaphor: 1. The central metaphor in the story is the comparison between Jim and Della and the Magi. They are the Magi. 2. Della saved money by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher. 3. the next two hours tripped by on rosy wings.
Personification: 1. Her heart had simply craved and yearned over them without the least hope of possession. 2. The dull precious metal seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent soul.
Simile: 1. Della’s hair fell around her, rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters. 2. Jim stopped inside the door, as immovable as a setter at the scent of quail.

Could Della be Pregnant?

There is an intriguing line in the story which suggests Della could be pregnant:

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!

It is not clear whether the narrator is suggesting that Jim is already burdened with a family (as in his existing union with Della), or that the word “to” indicates that the family burden is coming in the future. Although Della is described as being slender, she could be in the early stages of pregnancy. This could be explain some of her highly emotional reactions during the story:

There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl.
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.

If Della is pregnant and aware of the situation, different conclusions may be reached in relation to her character. Her hair, which will take many years to regrow, is the only family asset that can readily be sold to support the costs of a baby. Instead of being among “the wisest of the wise”, Della may better be described in the narrator’s terms as a “foolish child who most unwisely sacrificed the greatest treasure of their house”.