Marriage has always been an innate part of a person's life. The perception of marriage differs from person to person. By analyzing the two stories "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry and "The Kiss" by Kate Chopin, we could see that the main characters of both stories have less similarities. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay When we look deep into the characters in the story “The Gift of the Magi,” it is very deep. Della and Jim can be seen as a couple with two big hearts despite being poor in material wealth. Della, who is loyal and has endless love for her husband in her heart, tries to save money to buy a gift for Jim for Christmas, but she might save little that would not serve the purpose of buying him a gift. Her immense love for Jim can be seen when she thinks, "There was nothing to do but fall on the bed and cry" (O. Henry). Finally, she sells her hair which is very dear to her to give her husband a gold chain to wear with the beautiful gold watch he owns. While Jim, who is also loyal and a loving husband to Della, sells his watch to buy a gift for his wife and ends up buying a comb that she wished she had once to comb her beautiful hair. After learning what they sacrificed to buy gifts for each other, they realize their love for each other once again. O Henry, consider them to be the wisest couples of all, even if it doesn't seem so practical in real life. The couple proves that more than the material wealth that people possess, what matters is the love for each other in their hearts and in the end that is the only thing that survives. On the other hand, in the story "The Kiss" the couple paints a completely different picture of the husband-wife relationship. Here the couple, unlike the couple in the other story, has less loyalty to each other. His wife Nathalie is portrayed as a woman with hidden motivations who has the ability to turn bad situations into good ones and in her favor, even if not in a positive way. She, when about to be caught while engaged in an intimate relationship with another man who is more romantic and could fulfill her fantasies, successfully manages to convince her husband that that man is just a close friend of hers and more like a brother. Nathalie on the one hand chooses a husband with all the material wealth she can dream of and on the other she chooses to have an extramarital affair with a man just as she imagines in her fantasies. Obviously the relationship between husband and wife is not ideal. He chooses to have both wealth and romance by having two different people in his life and shows the minimum of loyalty and genuineness. In this story she is depicted as having a dictatorial character. This is evident at the end of the story: "He felt like a chess player who, skillfully handling his pieces, sees the game take the expected direction" (Chopin, Kate). Remember: This is just an example Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom EssayDella in "The Gift of the Maggi" represents a woman with the softest image of femininity and an ideal wife who can be called the epitome of love, the one who sacrifices her dearest of all. On the contrary, Nathalie in 'The Kiss' reflects a very different woman, seemingly outspoken and in contrast to the softer image of women of that century. Della, defined as the wisest of all by O Henry, represents love and compassion, while Nathalie is portrayed as a pragmatic woman who values ​​marriage and loyalty to her husband less..