Who Is The 'Curtain In Hills Like White Elephants'?

In the short story, “Hills like White Elephants” by Earnest Hemingway, we read about two travelers making their way from Barcelona to Madrid. One of the travelers is an American man, alongside his girlfriend, Jig, whose nationality is not specified. The story proceeds forward, and we pick up very quickly that there is some kind of unspoken tension between the two characters that neither of them care to discuss. During the back and forth dialogue, we can safely assume that the two are expecting a child and that the man wants her to undergo an abortion, but she is unsure about the whole idea. The duration of this short passage is mainly focused on the couple being broken due to the issue they have before them. In this short passage, beaded curtains are mentioned constantly and seem to represent separation, freedom, and beauty. The bead curtains were the most symbolic detail in the story. From the very start of the passage, we are introduced to it while the setting of the location is being described. It states that: “Close against the side of the station there was the warm shadow of the building and a curtain, made of strings of bamboo beads, hung across the open door into the bar, to keep out the flies” (Hemingway 3-5). As we begin to dissect this meaning, we must first take into consideration the practicalness of curtains.
In certain cultures, beads are typically used to bring good luck or ward off the bad. We can see this taking place within the unspoken dialogue as the American and Jig are clearly distancing from each other. Jig realizes that this situation can be taken as an opportunity to be independent and free herself from this man. The relationship is clearly toxic, as it seems like he pressures her into doing what he wants and she has no say in any matter