O. Henry's Sacrifice and Symbolism in Two Classic Stories

O. Henry: Life, Career, and Literary Context

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 one short story a week for magazines. Born William Sidney Porter in 1862, O. Henry was a pseudonym, and like many of his characters, he harbored a secret: he served five years in prison for embezzlement while working at a bank (Menand, 2021). Porter began writing in prison, and once released, writing short stories for magazines became his primary source of income. Although very successful, he was often in need of money, and the need to write popular and pleasing stories was a major source of his literary inspiration (Menand, 2021). In 1904 alone, he published 66 stories, and the early twentieth century saw the publication of some of his most famous works, including "The Gift of the Magi" and "The Last Leaf."

Both stories feature struggling characters facing difficult circumstances, draw heavily upon symbolism, and have surprise endings that highlight the theme of sacrifice for love in ways that are both poignant and profound — qualities that continue to engage readers today.

"The Gift of the Magi" refers in its title to the gifts of the wise men to Christ — various apparently useless offerings (except gold) that 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 crowning 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 had longed for to adorn her hair. This exchange underlines the symbolic truth that it is the thought behind a gift, rather than the gift itself, that matters most. "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; the material worth of the objects only symbolized the depth of their feeling. Although these characters are poor, they find solace in the love they share.

Similarly, "The Last Leaf" tells the story of Sue and Johnsy, two struggling artists who are devoted to each other. When Johnsy becomes ill with pneumonia, she becomes convinced she will die when the last leaf of an old tree near their apartment falls. "It will fall today, and I shall die at the same time" (Henry, 1905, p. 16). After she survives her illness — heartened by the fact that the leaf she was convinced would fall remains clinging to the wall — she learns of the death of old Mr. Behrman, a painter who had secretly painted a leaf on the wall to sustain the illusion that the tree was still holding on despite adversity. In terms of characterization, the protagonists of these stories struggle not against human antagonists but against invisible forces: in "The Gift of the Magi," poverty; in "The Last Leaf," the depression brought on by illness.

Sacrifice as a Central Theme

Sacrifice is a theme present in both stories, even though both are, for the most part, warm-hearted and uplifting in how they end. In "The Gift of the Magi," Della and Jim are willing to sacrifice their most precious material possessions for one another. 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 are like the watch — valuable, plain, simple, and good, Henry suggests — and worthy of Jim, even though Jim cannot put the gift to practical use. Likewise, Jim's sacrifice is worthy of her, even though she cannot use the tortoiseshell combs on her now-shorn hair. Both understand at the end, when they are overwhelmed by their love for one another, that the sacrifice itself matters more than the practical outcome.

Similarly, in "The Last Leaf," Behrman's sacrifice — painting a leaf on a wall in the rain at the cost of his own life — is revealed to be his last masterpiece, something that cements his legacy as a great artist. "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 painted a great work on canvas, his sacrifice in saving a young woman's life by giving her a reason to hold on shows he was a worthy artist of life, if not necessarily of paint. His act also enables Johnsy to realize her dream of going to Italy to paint the Bay of Naples. The sacrifice of the older man allows the younger generation to live on and preserves the person Sue most loves.

However, while both stories resonate thematically, "The Last Leaf" ultimately carries greater poignancy. Behrman, in some respects, must die so that Johnsy can live. Johnsy's depression, her refusal to eat, and her withdrawal from the world appear self-induced, whereas Behrman's death results from exposure during a cold, miserable night — he suffers far more severely, making his sacrifice the greater one. Unlike "The Gift of the Magi," the sacrifice here is not an equal exchange. Because Behrman was himself a tormented figure — an alcoholic who never realized his promise as a painter — his death carries both a sense of fulfillment and a sense of loss.