Initial plot problem is thoroughly spelled out by the
narrator. Della wants to buy her husband a special Christmas present but she has only
managed to save $1.87.
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next
day would be Christmas.
This
is not a complication but the initial problem. The complication arises when she decides
to sell her hair. This makes the whole situation more complicated. She has made a
radical decision, and there is no way for her to undo it even though she has serious
misgivings. She thought she looked awful without her gorgeous long
hair.
When
Della reached home her intoxication gave way a little to prudence and reason. She got
out her curling irons and lighted the gas and went to work repairing the ravages made by
generosity added to
love.
She does not care so
much about herself, but she is deeply concerned about how her husband Jim will react
when he comes home and sees her.
She had a habit for saying little silent prayers
about the simplest everyday things, and now she whispered: “Please God, make him think I
am still pretty.”
She is not
only afraid that she might lose Jim's affection but that she might even lose her
husband. O. Henry hints that she might be pregnant, in which case the loss of her
husband would be a total disaster resulting from the simple desire to buy a nice
Christmas present for the man she loves. The hint that she might be pregnant and has not
yet told Jim the news is contained in the following
line.
Poor
fellow, he was only twenty-two—and to be burdened with a
family!
The word family
suggests that Jim will not only have a wife to support but a baby. Assuming this is the
case, it makes Della's problem all the more complicated. Jim's affection means
everything to her. She is not only emotionally dependent on him but financially
dependent as well. Love itself can bring a lot of complications into people's
lives.
The fact that Jim has sold the watch for which Della
bought an expensive fob by selling her hair to raise the necessary money may or may not
be considered another plot complication. Jim's sacrificing his love to buy his wife a
set of combs for her hair resolves the whole complicated problem because it proves
conclusively how much he loves her. And he tells her so in
words:
“Don't
make any mistake, Dell,” he said, “about me. I don't think there's anything in the way
of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any
less."
The sacrifices Della
and Jim have made for each other brings them even closer
together.
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