Isn't it Romantic?
No matter what race someone is, what country they are from, or what gender they are, they have all at one time or another loved something. Love is considered to be the language of the heart. Lydia Maria Child once said, "The cure for all ills and wrongs, the cares, the sorrows and the crimes of humanity, all lie in the one word 'love.' It is the divine vitality that everywhere produces and restores life." While this is not necessarily always true, love does seem to play a big role in every day life. Many books, stories, poems, and articles have been written on the subject. Two such short stories are "A Haunted House" by Virginia Woolf and "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry. These two stories share commonalities and differences in their theme, setting, and mood.
True love has long since been a common use in stories, and "A Haunted House" and "The Gift of the Magi" are no exception.
House on Haunted Hill (1999 film)
The Gift of the Magi
Haunted HouseWithin both short stories love provides the basis for the common theme, which is love outweighs all else. In "A Haunted House" love goes beyond time and death. The old ghostly couple still love one another after having been dead for a while. They return to the old house, full of memories of laughter, kisses, and joy. "The Gift of the Magi", while still showing that love is greater, displays the fact that love can indeed happen "for richer or for poorer." The couple had very few possessions, but they loved one another enough to sell that what they prized about all else. Both stories had a common theme that differed in its application in the story.
Along with any love story comes a loving setting but more specifically, a...