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In many ways, the story of Joe and Missie May is an allegory of the biblical story of Hosea. In the Old Testament, the prophet Hosea marries the unfaithful Gomer, which parallels the relationship between God and the unfaithful Israelites. Missie May’s decision to sleep with Slemmons for a gold coin that turns out to be fake is a parallel to the way the Israelites of the Bible worshiped false idols. Joe is also initially guilty of being taken in by Slemmons’s false wealth and power, and he parades Missie May as a metaphorical offering to a false god. In the aftermath of Missie May’s infidelity, the gilded six-bit haunts their home as a symbolic reminder of the consequences of being taken in by false idols.

At the end of the story, Joe rids himself of the coin, symbolically removing the false god’s influence from his home and demonstrating mercy toward his wife. In the Bible, Hosea forgives Gomer like Joe forgives Missie May. Hosea’s forgiveness is meant to symbolize the way the God of the Old Testament forgives the Israelites for their spiritual unfaithfulness and is a parable about God’s mercy. Similarly, in “The Gilded Six-Bits,” Joe’s mercy toward Missie May is a lesson in the righteousness and power of forgiveness.

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