"A Service of Love" is a short story by O. Henry, a famous American writer known for his wit and surprise endings. The story is about a man named Tom, who is deeply in love with a woman named Fanny. Tom is a poor man, while Fanny comes from a wealthy family. Despite the differences in their social class, Tom and Fanny are deeply in love and plan to marry.
However, Tom's love for Fanny is put to the test when he discovers that she is suffering from a terminal illness. Fanny's father, who is a wealthy man, offers to pay for the best medical treatment for his daughter, but Tom refuses the offer, knowing that it would be of no use. Instead, Tom decides to care for Fanny himself, using all of his savings to buy her the best food and medicine that he can afford.
As Fanny's condition deteriorates, Tom becomes more and more devoted to her. He spends all of his time caring for her, sacrificing his own needs and desires to make her as comfortable as possible. Despite the fact that she is dying, Fanny is deeply touched by Tom's love and devotion, and she is grateful for every moment that she spends with him.
In the end, Fanny dies, and Tom is left heartbroken. However, he knows that he has done everything that he could to show his love for Fanny, and he is proud of the sacrifices that he made for her.
In conclusion, "A Service of Love" is a poignant and moving story about the power of love to transcend social boundaries and overcome even the most difficult of circumstances. It is a reminder of the importance of selflessness and devotion in relationships, and the ways in which love can bring out the best in people.
A Service of Love by O. Henry: Summary & Analysis
Overview This story features a young man and a young girl. Similarly Joe tells the truth when he discovers what really happened to Delia. And when a girl in the laundry set down a hot iron on my hand this afternoon I was all the way home making up that story about the Welsh rabbit. Then Joe says, ''when one loves one's Art no service seems too hard'', but Delia corrects him and says, ''just 'When one loves. Because of this, they are each willing to do things that they do not really want to do. It takes a few moments, but Harvey gets into his work mind frame, where he usually loses himself. Her explanation is that Clementina spilled hot food on her.
What is the theme of "A Service of Love?"
Larrabee began housekeeping in a flat. Realising Lotta has too expensive tastes for him, Gillian leaves the theatre, asking the cab driver what he would do with a thousand dollars. In serving the rabbit she spilled a great lot of it, boiling hot, over my hand and wrist. The message concerns the intuitive wisdom that people who love have. She confesses that she couldn't get any pupils and so she got a job ironing shirts at a laundryâshe was burned when another girl set an iron down on her hand. So he cannily deduces that there is some codicil, some conditional detail in the will which is dependent on how he spends his one thousand dollars: hence the need for him to produce evidence to account for what he has done with it.
Short Story Analysis: A Service of Love by O. Henry
In the example of Jim and Della, O. And when a girl in the laundry set down a hot iron on my hand this afternoon I was all the way home making up that story about the Welsh rabbit. After flippantly suggesting Gillian might spend the money on charitable endeavours, something he knows the young man would never do, Old Bryson suggests he buy a diamond pendant for Lotta Lauriere, a young singer Gillian is involved with, and then go and set up a ranch in Idaho. Unfortunately, Lotta tells him that she has seen another woman wearing a necklace which cost more than two thousand dollars, and liked the look of it. They want to get ahead in those areas.
