The Gift of the Magi: Themes The Gift of the Magi has many themes that touch the heart. The author expresses those themes in many ways. The two biggest ways that the author expresses the most important themes are through the setting and the characters. Symbolism also takes a big part in this story. In the end irony ties it all together. For instance, Jim and Della live in a flat with just enough money to get by. The setting leads to the theme of sacrifice for love. You can tell that Jim and Della’s love is unconditional by what they each sacrifice and sell for each other: their most prized possessions. Without the setting one would never know why they needed to se