O Henry's Themes and Styles

O. Henry’s Themes of Sacrifice and Symbolism:

“The Gift of the Magi” and “The Last Leaf”

In a New Yorker profile of the American short story writer O. Henry, author Louis Menand (2021) describes the staggering output of the author at the peak of his career, writing as many as a short story a week for magazines. Born William Sidney Porter in 1862, O. Henry was a pseudonym, and like many of his characters, O. Henry harbored a secret—he served five years in prison for embezzlement when he was working at a bank (Menand 2021). Porter began writing in prison, and once released, writing short stories for magazines became the primary source of his income. Although very successful, like many of his characters, he was often in need of money, and the need to write popular and pleasing stories was a major source of his literary inspiration (Menard 2021). In 1904, he published 66 stories, and the early 20th century saw the publication of some of his most famous works, including “The Gift of the Magi” and “The Last Leaf.” Both stories 1. feature struggling characters facing difficult circumstances, 2. draw heavily upon the use of symbolism, and 3. have surprise endings that highlight the theme of the importance of sacrifice for love that are both poignant and profound in a way that continues to engage readers.

“The Gift of the Magi” refers in its title to the gift of the wise men to Christ of various apparently useless gifts (except gold) which reflect their adoration of the Christ child. In this story, a young couple named Della and Jim are scrimping and saving just to make ends meet. Della’s one crowing glory is her beautiful hair, and she sells it to get enough money to buy a gold watch chain for her husband, only to learn that Jim sold his valuable watch to buy her the beautiful tortoiseshell combs she longed for to adorn her hair. This exchange underlines the symbolic truth that it is the thought behind the gift rather than the gift itself, which is important. “Each sold the most valuable thing he owned in order to buy a gift for the other” (Henry, 1906, p.6). The sacrifice was the greatest gift, versus the material worth of the gifts, their sacrifices symbolized. Although these characters are poor, they find solace in the love they share from one another. Similarly, “The Last Leaf” tells the story of a couple, Sue, and Johnsy, two struggling artists who are devoted to each other; but when Johnsy becomes ill with pneumonia, she is convinced that she will die when the last leaf of an old tree near their apartment sheds all its leaves. “It will fall today, and I shall die at the same time” (Henry 1905, p.16). Later, after she survives her illness, heartened by the fact that the last leaf she was convinced was going to fall remains, she learns of the death of old Mr. Behrman, a painter who painted a leaf on the wall to retain the illusion that the tree was still holding on, despite adversity. In terms of characterization, the protagonists of these stories are not struggling against human antagonists, but against invisible forces—in “The Gift of the Magi,” poverty, while in “The Last Leaf,” depression brought forth by an illness.

Sacrifice is a theme which is present in both stories, even though both are, for the most part warm-hearted and uplifting in the ways they end. In “The Gift of the Magi,” Della and Jim are willing to make sacrifices for one another of the dearest material possessions they own. For Della, the idea of seeing a beautiful gold chain on her husband’s prized watch ultimately means more to her than her beautiful hair. “Because it was so plain and simple, you knew that it was very valuable. All good things are like this” (Henry 1906, p.3). Della’s love and her sacrifice is like the watch—valuable, plain, simple, and good, Henry suggests, and worthy of Jim, even though Jim cannot put the gift to practical use, just like Jim’s sacrifice is worthy of her, even though she cannot use the tortoiseshell combs on her beautiful hair. The sacrifice itself is more important than the actual act, both understand at the end, when they are overwhelmed by the love they feel for one another. Similarly, in “The Last Leaf,” the theme of sacrifice of Behrman, sacrificing his own life to paint a leaf on a wall in the rain, is revealed to be the painter’s last masterpiece, something which cements his legacy as a great painter. “Oh, my dear, it is Behrman’s great masterpiece—he painted it there the night that the last leaf fell” (Henry 1906, pp. 17-18). Even though he never actually painted a great painting on a canvas, his sacrifice in saving a young woman’s life by convincing herself that she had a reason to hang on in the world shows he was a worthy artist of life, if not necessarily as a painter. This also enables Johnsy to realize her dream of going to Italy to paint the Bay of Naples. The sacrifice of the older man enables the younger generation to live on and also enables the person Sue most loves in the world to live. However, while thematically both stories have resonances with one another, ultimately there is far greater poignancy in “The Last Leaf.” Behrman, in some respects, must die so Johnsy can live. Also, Johnsy’s depression, her refusal to eat, and her withdrawal from the world seem to be self-induced, unlike Behrman’s death from exposure during the cold, miserable night. He suffers far worse than the young woman, physically, so it is he who makes the greater sacrifice. Unlike “The Gift of the Magi,” the sacrifice does not appear to be an equal one. Because Behrman himself was also a tormented person, an alcoholic who never was able to realize his promise as a painter, there is both a sense of fulfillment and loss.

The slightly different tone to the theme of sacrifice in both stories also reflects differences in their use of symbolism. In “The Gift of the Magi,” both members of the young couple are still young and healthy, even though they are very poor, and there is the small hope that Della’s hair will grow again, and she will be able to use the beautiful combs her husband purchased for her. The symbolism of the apparently useless gifts that signify love parallel that of the Christmas gift of the Magi and also symbolize the character’s devotion to one another. There is some sadness when the reader reflects upon how much of a great expense on these useless gifts were to the young couple, as Jim cannot even afford a proper coat and gloves because he is living on so little. But given that both sacrificed, for the most part, equally (each giving the only valuable thing they possessed), and this is a sacrifice both can recover from eventually (Della’s hair will grow, and hopefully Jim can afford a better watch if he makes more money at his job), the symbolism of the sacrifice is more heart-warming than the sad and irreversible sacrifice of “The Last Leaf.” In the case of “The Last Leaf,” the symbolism is that of a masterpiece for which the old man gave everything, including his life.

The effectiveness of these stories in using symbolism and highlighting themes of sacrifice and illustrating the internal conflicts the protagonists have within themselves about their poverty, illness, and depression, is partially because their surprise endings have a very strong emotional impact for the readers. Both stories are primarily told through the perspective of a single character. In “The Gift of the Magi,” the reader is in Della’s head for the story, and has no idea what Jim is plotting regarding her gift. When Jim receives the gift, she is at first terrified of his reaction and does not understand why he is not happier at the sight of the gold watch chain. “His eyes looked strangely at Della, and there was an expression in them that she could not understand” (Henry, 1907, p.4). She is at first afraid that he no longer loves her because she has cut her hair and looks like a boy, although the reader soon realizes this is because Jim is contemplating the fact that the combs that he sold his watch to obtain now have no immediate usefulness.

With “The Last Leaf,” because most of the story is told through Johnsy’s friend Sue’s perspective, the reader is aware that Johnsy is being melodramatic and malingering about her health. “The ties that held her to friendship and to earth were breaking, one by one” (Henry 1907, p. 16). But it is not until the very end, after Mr. Behrman dies, that the true nature of his sacrifice is evident. In fact, when Sue first interacts with him, she is convinced he is rather unpleasant, because of his harsh and unsympathetic manner and his alcoholism, and has no idea he is capable of such kindness. While Della and Jim likely always knew that the two of them were capable of love, and Della’s moment of crisis is fleeting, in the case of the old, drunken painter, the revelation about his character is much more dramatic and stunning for both the reader and for Sue.