Della's Sacrifice: Understanding Her Hair in 'The Gift of the Magi'

Della pulled down her hair in O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" because she planned to sell it to a wigmaker in order to buy Jim a Christmas present.

She loved Jim very much and felt desperate to give him a worthy gift, but they were very poor. Her beautiful, long hair was her most prized possession, and she sacrificed it out of love to afford a platinum fob chain for Jim's beloved pocket watch.