Three: A Magic Number
In “The Gift of the Magi,” the number three figures prominently. Consider the following:
The story has three characters: Della, Jim, and Madame Sophronie.- Della counts her money three times (Paragraph 1).
- The narrator says that “Life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles (Paragraph 2).
- The story refers three times to the Youngs’ supper entree: chops.
- The story mentions the Queen of Sheba, who gave three types of gifts to King Solomon: spices, gold, and jewels.
- A sentence in Paragraph 5 says, “She stood by the window and looked out dully at a grey cat walking a grey fence in a grey backyard.”
- Jim tells Della, I don’t think there’s anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less.
- The narrator alliteratively describes Della as speaking with “sudden serious sweetness.”
- The were three magi: Balthasar, Melchior, and Gaspar.
- The magi offered three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
- According to tradition, the magi were kings of Arabia, Persia, and India.
- The story centers on three valuables: Jim’s gold watch, Della’s hair, and the love Jim and Della share.
Through explorations of the three pillars of Zen–teaching, practice, and enlightenment–Roshi Philip Kapleau presents a comprehensive overview of the history and discipline of Zen Buddhism. An established classic, this 35th anniversary edition features new illustrations and photographs, as well as a new afterword by Sensei Bodhin Kjolhede, who has succeeded Philip Kapleau as spiritual director of the Rochester Zen Center, one of the oldest and most influential Zen centers in the United States.
