The Gift of the Magi Themes

This Study Guide consists of approximately 37 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Gift of the Magi.

The Gift of the Magi Themes

This Study Guide consists of approximately 37 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Gift of the Magi.
This section contains 607 words
(approx. 2 pages at 400 words per page)
Buy The Gift of the Magi Study Guide

Love

Love, generosity, and the various definitions of wealth and poverty are central themes in "The Gift of the Magi," in which a poor, loving young husband and wife sell the only valuable things they own to give each other special Christmas gifts. Della Young sells her beautiful hair to buy Jim a platinum watch chain, and Jim sells his heirloom watch to buy Della some tortoiseshell hair combs. These gifts are useless, in one sense; Della cannot wear her combs without her hair, and Jim, without his watch, cannot use his watch chain.

But the narrator of the story points out that the Youngs possess a gift greater than any object: the gift of love. He compares them to the magi (the wise men who brought gifts to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem), saying: "let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the...

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This section contains 607 words
(approx. 2 pages at 400 words per page)
Buy The Gift of the Magi Study Guide
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The Gift of the Magi from Gale. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.