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Della’s hair
Jim’s watch holds sentimental value for him as well, having been passed down from generation to generation. In this way, the watch represents Jim’s ties to the family he grew up in—the family he leaves in order to make a new family with Della. The watch also more conventionally represents time, which Jim gives to Della in the form of the hours he works to support the household and the hours he spends at home afterwards. As the narrator mentions towards the story’s end, Jim is never late returning from his job. The gold in the watch can also symbolize several things, including purity, money (which the couple lacks), inner value, and permanence.
Jim’s gold watch Quotes in The Gift of the Magi
The The Gift of the Magi quotes below all refer to the symbol of Jim’s gold watch. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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The Gift of the Magi
Quotes
Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride. One was Jim's gold watch that had been his father's and his grandfather's. The other was Della's hair. Had the queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him pluck at his beard from envy.
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It was a platinum fob chain simple and chaste in design, properly proclaiming its value by substance alone and not by meretricious ornamentation--as all good things should do. It was even worthy of The Watch. As soon as she saw it she knew that it must be Jim's. It was like him. Quietness and value--the description applied to both.
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Jim was never late. Della doubled the fob chain in her hand and sat on the corner of the table near the door that he always entered. Then she heard his step on the stair away down on the first flight, and she turned white for just a moment. She had a habit for saying little silent prayer about the simplest everyday things, and now she whispered: "Please God, make him think I am still pretty."
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Jim’s gold watch Symbol Timeline in The Gift of the Magi
The timeline below shows where the symbol Jim’s gold watch appears in The Gift of the Magi. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Gift of the Magi
...most prized possessions: Della’s long, brown hair that falls below her knees and Jim’s gold watch that was passed down from his grandfather. He compares these items to King Solomon’s treasures...
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...a perfect present for Jim. She decides finally on a simple platinum chain for Jim’s watch, comparing the watch’s lack of ornamentation and value to Jim’s personality, which is equally quiet...
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...Jim comforts her before she remembers her own present to Jim. She pulls out the watch chain and asks to see Jim’s watch so that she might try the chain on...
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...now and that they’re too nice to use just yet—before admitting that he sold the watch to buy the combs for Della. They decide to have dinner, and the narrator sums...
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