In the short stories “The Gift of the Magi” by O. In Henry and Dorothy Parker's "A Telephone Call," two women are troubled by the way their loved ones view them. While Della d’O. Henry is able to see that Jim is not affected, Parker's narrator finds herself in uncertainty because her significant other does not call back, filling her with skepticism. In “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry, a young couple in love must give each other surprise gifts before Christmas. The story takes place in a small industrialized town where poverty is widespread and money is scarce. One of the characters, Della, values ​​her long hair while her significant other, Jim, values ​​his gold watch. Both sell each of their treasures in order to obtain something to add to the other's precious item. Whereas in “A Phone Call” by Dorothy Parker, the narrator is waiting for a phone call from her boyfriend. He said he would call at 5:00 p.m. but at 7:10 p.m. the narrator is still waiting for him. As she imagines why, she turns to God for answers and guidance. She thinks that if she waits tolerantly, something virtuous will still happen, but she frantically wants to call him to find out the reason why he still hasn't called. Through his narrator, Parker shows how simple it is to wait for a phone. a call can put us in a circle of suspense. As Parker's narrator anxiously awaits her boyfriend's phone call, she tries to figure out how she should respond. In doing so, she tries to determine why he hasn't called and strives to find resolutions to no longer find herself in this position: "I will be like I was when I first met him times. Then maybe he'll like me again. I was always nice in the beginning. Oh, it's so easy to be nice to people before... middle of paper ... suppose the boyfriend doesn't call back, leaving the narrator alone and full of doubts. By analogy, these short stories are examples of how two women perceive each other because of their actions. Both O. Henry and Parker show how women can feel simply because of how those close to them perceive them. They show how a simple feeling can turn into a complex puzzle of moods and reactions. In contrast, Della may find love and luxury with Jim but, as Dorothy Parker writes "A Telephone Call," she cultivates a kind of category of exciting and dispirited dispositions for the reader. Overall, love plays an important role in both stories because it can make people feel and do many different things. Works Cited Parker, Dorothy. “A phone call.” New York: Cosmopolitan Magazine, 1930. PrintPorter, Sydney. “The Gift of the Magi”. The New York Sunday World, 1905. Print