"Instead of obeying, Jim tumbled down on the couch and put his hands under the back of his head and smiled" (O Henry 168). I chose this quote from "The Gift of the Magi" largely because I wonder exactly what Jim is thinking. I suppose he is musing at the irony of the entire situation. He buys combs for his wife's hair by selling his watch. She sells her hair to buy him a chain for his watch. What are the chances of that, really? I was actually surprised that neither of them got angry. Jim was at first dumbfounded, then seemingly amused. Della's emotions ran the gamut, but neither of them ever seemed to land on anger.
So, what was Jim thinking when he sat down and smiled? My thoughts are somewhere along the line of "you've got to be kidding me", but that's just me.
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