Question

In O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi," despite loving her long hair, Della cuts it and sells it. What motivated her to take this step?

Answer 1

She did it out of love for her husband. She wanted to buy her husband a gift for his happiness, therefore she put aside her own.

Answer 2

It was mostly motivated by her love for her husband. She didn't care about her hair as much as her husband.