A Service of Love by O. Henry is a short story that shows the love between Joe and Delia. Joe is an artist who is talented at painting and takes classes with Mr. Magister. In comparison, Delia is an accomplished pianist who takes classes with Herr Rosenstock. Both Mr. Magister and Herr Rosenstock charge costly prices for their lessons. In the beginning, they each had enough money to pay for their lessons. However, as time passed they weren’t able to keep up with their lesson expenses. Delia is unable to bear Joe losing his lessons with Mr. Magister, so she “finds” a student to teach piano too. She makes up stories about every lesson to Joe with realistic detail. Seeing that Delia took up piano lessons, he starts “trying” to sell his paintings. At the end of the story, Joe realizes that Delia never gave piano lessons. Rather she was working at a laundry place. Joe then says that he worked at the same laundry place, but he was firing the engine.
Throughout the story, both characters emphasize that when one loves one's Art no service seems too hard. However, at the end of the story, Delia cuts Joe off when he starts saying, “When one loves one's Art no service seems too hard.” Instead, she says “When one loves.” Proving to the reader that Delia doesn’t think that sacrificing doesn’t necessarily mean that you love someone. That love itself goes beyond any sacrifices that you can make. The difference between the words happens after they both find out that they both quit their dreams for each other. This shows that in the beginning, they were both working toward their dreams in the relationship. They both had classes that would allow them to progress further in their dreams. Showing that they both hadn’t sacrificed anything for their love and only their dreams. However, by the end of the story, they had both sacrificed their dreams for each other. By that point, they both realized that the other loves them enough to sacrifice their dreams. Allowing their love to transcend the past needing to sacrifice to prove their love.
At the end of the story, it says, ‘My purchaser from Peoria," said Joe, "and Gen. Pinkney are both creations of the same art--but you wouldn't call it either painting or music.’
This allows the reader to think that even though they both quit their “original” art. They haven’t quit art itself. While they were trying to convince each other that they were still pursuing their dreams, they both provided detailed descriptions of what they were doing. Normally when people lie, they don’t think of the details they did. Allowing them to persuade each other. Proving that they both wanted the other to be convinced, so they wouldn’t feel guilty about pursuing their dreams while the other gave up on their dreams. Even though they didn’t want to, they thought that lying about their jobs would help the other focus on their dreams. This shows that while they did quit their original dream, they might’ve started another dream.
Normally, when you realize that your lover lied about something important it would be easy to feel betrayed. When Joe first realized that Delia had lied about teaching Clementine, he wanted to know the full story. Rather than accusing her of lying without letting her explain why, he let her explain the full story. After she revealed the reason why she lied, he also revealed that he had lied. Even though they had both lied to each other, it was out of the goodness of their hearts. Once the truth got out, they both realized how much the other loved them. They weren’t angry with each other, but rather they understood why the other did what they did. It proves how pure their love is for each other. They lied to each other to protect the other’s pride.
In conclusion, O. Henry's short story, A Service of Love shows the love story between Joe and Della. Initially, both Joe and Della were artists who lived to strive towards their dreams. However, as time passed and financial situations started to arise, they were forced to give up on their dreams in the hopes that the others would continue their dream. By the end of the story, we realize that neither of them continued with their dream. Rather, they had lied to each other in the hopes that they would be able to protect their partner’s dignity. The sacrifices that they committed show the selflessness of love. After they found out about each other's lies, they were able to understand the intentions behind the other’s actions. Which strengthened their bond even more than before. This short story shows the power of love and the unconditional love of two people.
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