The Dustbin Magi

By Max Troiano

     The Gift of the Magi is a classic, well-known, and influential story. However, more and more, its religious tint seems out of place. 

     Unlike a surprisingly (perhaps worryingly) recent 1905, when this tale of love and sacrifice was written, the prevailing religion of the West is humanism; whose goal is to maximize human happiness and potential and to minimize human suffering. We should not kill, the humanist says, not because some great and omnipotent being in the sky declared “Thou shalt not kill”, but because murder causes human suffering. 

     This story is first and foremost about love, and sacrificing for those you love. Jim and Della sold their most treasured possessions not because God told them to, but because they wanted to get a Christmas gift for the person they loved most in this world. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more powerful and relatable theme.

     But then, as we leave the poor couple happily in each others’ arms on Christmas Eve, Mr. Henry finishes up with a hastily tacked-on paragraph about the Magi, who in their pious Christian wisdom gave gifts to the newborn Jesus. We should give Christmas gifts because the wise men did, not because it brings joy to us and those around us.

  114 years later, The Gift of the Magi is still an important story. It’s also still a story that deserves recognition as a great work. But if it wants to live on in our increasingly atheist modern world, the awkward final passage should be relegated to the dustbin of history.