Della. She doesn't have enough money--and yet she still keeps wanting to buy Jim a nice present. She even knows what she would like to get: a watch fob to attach to Jim's beautiful pocket watch.

In attempting to solve her conflict, Della hits on the idea of selling her beautiful hair. Impulsively she goes to Madame Sofronie and sells it for twenty dollars, just enough to buy the platinum watch fob. (Note that nothing is said about any conflict Jim might be experiencing. He may not have had any conflict at all but just decided to sell his watch to raise some Christmas money.)

One problem leads to another. Now that Della has sold her hair she sees that she looks very strange. She is afraid that Jim will be repelled by her appearance and will cease to love her. This is the way with primary conflicts in stories: one conflict leads to another one which is even more serious. Della's desire to buy Jim a nice gift was a small problem, but her fear of losing him forever is a much greater problem, and she has no means of solving this one because she has parted with the only thing of value that she owned.

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 did have one recourse. She could pray to God for help. And the conflict is resolved, apparently, as a result of her prayer. It turns out that Jim not only still loves her in spite of her changed appearance, but he loves her so much that he has parted with his most treasured material possession in order to buy her a Christmas present. Prayer can work miracles. The message is especially appropriate in a Christmas story.

The main conflict in The Gift of the Magi is poverty.  Because of their poverty, Jim and Delia have to make great personal sacrifices to buy the other a Christmas present.

"In "The Gift of the Magi," O. Henry uses a folksy narrator to tell the story of Jim and Delia Young, a poor young couple who buy each other special Christmas gifts, which ironically cancel each other out because Delia sells her hair to buy Jim a chain for his watch, which he in turn has sold to buy her a fine set of combs for her hair. Despite the fact that these gifts are now useless, Jim and Delia have given each other the greatest gift of all, which the narrator compares to the gifts given to the Christ child by the wise men, or magi: selfless love."

There are two ways in which to answer this question and they are both symbolic.

First, there is a conflict of love. Both Jim and Della want to outdo one another in love. They want to express their love in a way that accurately shows the depth of their love for one another. So, they both sell what they prize the most to express and show their love to one another. Della sells her hair and gives to Jim a chain for his watch and Jim sells his watch to give Della combs for her hair. In light of this, they sought to show love in extravagant ways.

Second, what made these acts of love difficult was that they were poor. The open lines of the story shows their poverty, as Della counts the pennies that she possessed and saved.

In the end, both win. This is the irony of the story or to use the language of O. Henry, this is why they are magi. They found the beauty of giving.

The exposition, which is the beginning narration in the story, reveals the conflict between Della and a lack of funds. She does not have the amount of money that she wants to be able to buy her husband a quality gift. The exposition goes on to explain the monetary struggle that Della and Jim have been facing up to this particular Christmas.

This conflict between the characters and their finances sets up the story to demonstrate true sacrifice. Della and Jim must both sell what is most important to them in order to afford gifts for each other. They do this without consulting each other, though, and it leads to an ironic situation where the gifts are rendered useless. Della sells her hair to buy Jim a watch chain, and Jim sells his watch to buy Della hair combs.

The original magi are the three kings, also called the wise men, who brought gifts to the baby Jesus just after he was born. They brought him gold, frankincense, and myrrh because these were objects of great value. However, these gifts did not require sacrifice on the part of the givers; the kings were wealthy and so the value of their gifts was of no consequence to them. For Jim and Della Dillingham, on the other hand, the gifts that they give to each other require great personal sacrifice. Della sells her beautiful hair, her most prized possession, so that she can buy Jim a chain for his most prized possession, his gold watch. Jim, though, sells this watch so that he can buy Della combs for her beautiful hair. The narrator calls them

two foolish children . . . who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are the wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.

Therefore, in the end, the narrator says that Jim and Della are actually the wisest, wiser even than the original magi, because they realize something the three kings did not: the value of personal sacrifice in order to make the one you love happy. The gifts of the original magi were generous, to be sure, but Jim and Della's gifts were generous in a whole new, much more significant, way.

Man verses society could be considered one of the conflicts in the story "The Gift of the Magi." Jim and Della have fallen on hard times financially. Jim's pay has been cut and they are having a hard time managing. Both characters wish to buy each other Christmas gifts. Society was telling them that they should buy each other gifts and that they should have more money. Eventually, they learn that society wasn't really right. All they needed was love after all. There could be arguments for the conflict being man verses self as well. Della and Jim struggle with their own wants and desires. They both want to keep the items they sell but they also want to provide for the partner they love.

The Gift of the Magi is an excellent story on the scripture that states it is more blessed to give than receive, found in Acts 20:35:

I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to givethan to receive.

Truly Della is much more blessed giving than she is receiving. Now, with her hair gone, she cannot use the expensive combs. Likewise, her husband Jim cannot use the platinum watch chain. This story is based on the blessing of giving, not receiving.

Throughout this story, the art of giving is highlighted. In fact, it is compared to the Three Wise Men who gave abundantly to the Christ child. They wanted nothing in exchange.

While the story reflects a giving heart, it should be noted that Della and Jim are amazing people. They give unselfishly. Their prized possessions are the first thing they give. Della gives her hair and her husband gives his gold watch. The gifts they bought in exchange cost more than the dollars they paid. The gifts they bought in exchange cost Jim and Della heart and soul.

When Della and her husband parted with their prized possession, they proved their magnanimous love one for the other. This story is more than a fairy-tale type love with a happily ever after ending. This story teaches the reader the value in giving up something that means so much in exchange for something to make another person happy, even if it makes one sad. The ending of this story has both a sad and happy ending.

Who gives like this? Who would give up something as precious as one's hair? Della does. She gave up her very adornment. Likewise, Jim gives up a family heirloom. He parted with something that had been passed down through the generations. It cannot be replaced. When the reader learns to give sacrificially as Jim and Della have, the world will go lacking nothing. That is the point the author is making.

Della and Jim Dillingham have fallen upon hard times and their clothes and their flat reveal some of their hardships.

In the exposition of O. Henry's story, Della counts out her money which falls short of what she needs for a Christmas present for her husband.

• Disappointed, Della drops onto the "shabby little couch" and cries. 
• The flat looks as though it is ready for the "mendicancy squad," a police squad that picked up beggars.
• The vestibule contains a bell that does not work
• The name "Dillingham" looks blurred above the mailbox
• There is in the Dillingham's flat on the floor a "worn red carpet"
• Della wears an "old brown jacket" and an "old brown hat" when she goes out to sell her hair in order to buy a watch fob for Jim.
• Jim needs a new overcoat and a pair of gloves when he arrives home
• Della sells her beautiful, long hair so that she can buy Jim a Christmas present, a gold watch fob
• Jim sells his handsome watch in order to buy Della combs for her beautiful hair 
• When they discover that the other has sold his or her most important possession, they are awe stricken, but soon reconcile and love each other even more.

There are two major characters in the short story "The Gift of the Magi." The two main characters are a married couple, Jim and Della. 

In the opening paragraph we see that they are poor, as Della is counting her money and there is little, even though she saved all year long. She is counting money, because it is Christmas and she wants to buy something for her husband, Jim. After shedding tears, she decides to sell what is most precious to her, her hair. This shows that Della is extremely sacrificial and loving. She is willing to give of herself, no matter what the cost. 

As the story progresses, we see that Jim is no less sacrificial. He, too, has little money. So, he decides to sell his watch, his most prized possession to buy Della combs for her hair. 

In the end, both show sacrifice and love. They also show wisdom. This is one of O. Henry's main points. Wisdom is to give to others rather to seek for oneself.