Compare And Contrast The Gift Of Magi And The Necklace

Dave Ramsey said “You will either tell you money what to do or the lack of it will always manage you.” This quote relates to the stories “ The Gift of Magi” and “The Necklace.” In the first story, the main character Della, spends all her savings to buy a present to please her husband Jim, which proves she controls her money. On the other hand, the protagonist of “The Necklace” Mathilde is unsatisfied about her lack of money and does everything to look richer. That behaviour clearly shows that she is being controlled by the need for money. Even though Della and Mathilde are characters from different stories, they have a number of similarities and differences regarding their physical description, words and actions, thoughts and feelings, and finally others reactions.

Although Mathilde considers herself to be born deprived from all refinements of life, she is more beautiful than any character in the story, as the passage suggests,“She was prettier than all others, elegant, gracious, smiling and crazy with joy.” (De Maupassant). On the other hand, Della’s hair is so gorgeous that it could even devalue the queen of Sheba’s jewels (Henry). Another similarity between Mathilde and Della is that both of them are affected due to their lack of money. Della suffers because she struggles to buy Jim a present (Henry). Meanwhile, Mathilde suffers because she cannot buy fancy clothing, diamonds and live in a palace (De Maupassant). In addition to that, both of them have husbands that deeply care for them. Della’s husband, Jim, in order to please her wife, sold his only watch to buy her a Christmas present (Henry). In the meantime, Mathilde’s husband used all his father heritage to help pay for the necklace replacement (De Maupassant). It is possible to see through characterization that even though they are characters from different stories Della and Mathilde have a number of