In the short story "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry the phrase "she turned white for just a moment" is mainly used to show that Della is afraid that Jim wouldn't think she is pretty anymore. It's Christmas Eve and Della wants to buy a present for Jim, she has only one dollar and eighty-seven cents. She is proud of her hair that reaches below her knee, it is like an ornament for her. She stops in front of an advertisement saying "Hair articles of all Kinds". The owner buys her hair, and she gets twenty dollars for hers. She sees a golden watch chain for Jim, it's twenty-two dollars. She goes back home and waits for Jim to come. She prays that he still finds her pretty.
