When gifts are given, the giver should receive no self- satisfaction. The receiver should not feel glad or sorry after receiving a gift. If you are glad, you also feel sorry your independence has been invaded. If you feel sorry, it's because the person didn't know your spirit. Emerson also says that sometimes gift giving leads to the receiver loving the gift more than the giver. The best gifts are the ones that the giver made because then the person is giving a part of themselves. Emerson is critiquing the way people receive and give gifts. He also doesn't seem to like the role gifts play in society because he doesn't see how they strengthen ties between people.
If I were to become a gift giver in the Emersonian sense then the gifts. It would have be more personal and meaningful. It would take more thinking to decide on an Emersonian gift for someone.
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