Hills Like White Elephants Feminist Analysis
Written in the 1920s, when society was still chiefly patriarchal, Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants presents a short dialogue between a boyfriend and a girlfriend at a train station. It is written in Hemingway’s famous Iceberg Theory, revealing only what is necessary to complete the story while leaving much of the detail up to the reader’s imagination.
The short story about an American man and his girlfriend opens with a short description of the setting. Set at a railroad crossing near a river in Spain, the couple is at their own crossroads. Beyond the river lie “long and white” (Hemingway) hills. Between the river and the train station, however, the landscape is described as arid and lifeless. The setting becomes an important …show more content…
symbolic tool in the story as the woman, referred to by her boyfriend as Jig, compares the distant hills to white elephants. In her comparison, Jig is alluding to her pregnancy and the “elephant in the room” that must be discussed. The barren land standing between Jig and the hills illustrates the obstacles facing Jig and her pregnancy: Her boyfriend and the thought of an abortion.
The American does not see the difficulty in the decision, referring to it as “an awfully simple operation” (Hemingway) that many people he knows have received.
Initially, Jig appears dependent upon the American as she first agrees to do the operation for him, telling him she does not care about herself (Hemingway). Jig shortly thereafter demands her boyfriend to cease discussion of the subject.
As the train is close to arrival, the doomed status of the relationship is revealed while the American retrieves their collective bags from inside the bar. He notices the other patrons “waiting reasonably for the train”. To the American, the idea of the abortion is a cut and dry decision; it is the sensible thing to do and Jig is simply being absurd. As he returns to Jig, he asks if she feels better, to which she replies “I am fine. There is nothing wrong with me” (Hemingway).
As stated by Charles Nolan in his article Hemingway’s Women’s Movement, “there is little doubt that Hemingway highlights Jig’s maturity and superiority as he excoriates the selfishness and insensitivity of her companion” (19). It is shown that, while the American wishes for their relationship to continue without responsibility or worry, Jig wants more stability in her life (Nolan 19). She wishes to mature and settle down, and she decides to do just that. Her short response to her boyfriend asking if she felt better is indicative of her decision to keep the child against his
wishes.
The short story about an American man and his girlfriend opens with a short description of the setting. Set at a railroad crossing near a river in Spain, the couple is at their own crossroads. Beyond the river lie “long and white” (Hemingway) hills. Between the river and the train station, however, the landscape is described as arid and lifeless. The setting becomes an important …show more content…
symbolic tool in the story as the woman, referred to by her boyfriend as Jig, compares the distant hills to white elephants. In her comparison, Jig is alluding to her pregnancy and the “elephant in the room” that must be discussed. The barren land standing between Jig and the hills illustrates the obstacles facing Jig and her pregnancy: Her boyfriend and the thought of an abortion.
The American does not see the difficulty in the decision, referring to it as “an awfully simple operation” (Hemingway) that many people he knows have received.
Initially, Jig appears dependent upon the American as she first agrees to do the operation for him, telling him she does not care about herself (Hemingway). Jig shortly thereafter demands her boyfriend to cease discussion of the subject.
As the train is close to arrival, the doomed status of the relationship is revealed while the American retrieves their collective bags from inside the bar. He notices the other patrons “waiting reasonably for the train”. To the American, the idea of the abortion is a cut and dry decision; it is the sensible thing to do and Jig is simply being absurd. As he returns to Jig, he asks if she feels better, to which she replies “I am fine. There is nothing wrong with me” (Hemingway).
As stated by Charles Nolan in his article Hemingway’s Women’s Movement, “there is little doubt that Hemingway highlights Jig’s maturity and superiority as he excoriates the selfishness and insensitivity of her companion” (19). It is shown that, while the American wishes for their relationship to continue without responsibility or worry, Jig wants more stability in her life (Nolan 19). She wishes to mature and settle down, and she decides to do just that. Her short response to her boyfriend asking if she felt better is indicative of her decision to keep the child against his
wishes.