Summary:
In the short story by Ernest Hemingway, "Hills Like White Elephants," a couple is delayed at a train station en route to Madrid and is observed in conflict over the girl's impending abortion. In his writing, Hemingway does not offer any commentary through a specific character's point of view, nor, in the storytelling, does he offer his explicit opinions on how to feel or think about the issues that emerge.
In the short story by Ernest Hemingway, "Hills Like White Elephants," a couple is delayed at a train station en route to Madrid and is observed in conflict over the girl's impending abortion. In his writing, Hemingway does not offer any commentary through a specific character's point of view, nor, in the storytelling, does he offer his explicit opinions on how to feel or think about the issues that emerge. The narrative seems to be purely objective, somewhat like a newspaper or journal article, and in true Hemingway form the story ends abruptly, without the couple's conflict clearly being resolved. The ambiguity of the ending has been a subject of much debate; however, the impact of what is not said in words can be gleaned through the symbolism of their surroundings. Upon examination of the setting, the couple's final choice becomes instantly apparent.
As the couple waits between two destinations, Barcelona and Madrid, they are trapped in limbo "between two lines of rail in the sun"(142). The station, placed between the two lines of rails, suggest the two directions the couple may go - toward Madrid and the abortion or away from Madrid and to a family scenario. The landscape describes the conflict, both barren and fruitful. Alongside of one rail line long, white hills stretch across the horizon, the country before them "brown and dry" (143). In stark contrast to the desolate landscape of the hills, the other flank is lush and green, with "fields of grain and trees [running] along the banks of the Ebro" (145). This scenic dichotomy comes to embody the girl's sentiments regarding the abortion: the hills are barren, representing her life if she submits to her partners expressed desires and goes through with the abortion; while the other fertile side represents her life if she carries to full-term, rich with verve and promise.
The fact that they are waiting for a train is significant as well. Being at a railway junction (a parallel to the junction in their lives) they are in veritably the "middle of nowhere" in northeastern Spain. This physical isolation The time constraints imposed by their mode of travel only magnifies the exigency of their decision. They are only at this junction for forty minutes, and once the train arrives they have only two minutes to board. The detail that it is the "express from Barcelona"(142) is a contrivance employed by Hemingway to add a sense of urgency to their situation. The two tracks, each one representing an individual and their wishes, run parallel to each other, never crossing, and hence leave no room for compromise. It is either one track or the other.
The pair is sitting outside at a table facing the dry hills. The girl looks out at the bleak, arid landscape and comments to her paramour that "[the hills] look like white elephants"(143). He brushes off this remark as a flight of fancy; after all, the hills bear no physical resemblance to white elephants. The girl is looking at these hills as being emblematic of their current lifestyle, and is trying to find some good in it, perhaps to convince herself to heed her partners wishes and go through with the abortion. She is trying to find magic in something very grim, but this self-pacifying tactic fails. His callous response to her attempt at finding beauty only furthers the emotional and ideological rift between them. To her, life after the abortion is an empty one --staying with her American lover and carrying on with their vagabond lifestyle, living in hotels and sightseeing. She expresses her dislike for this lifestyle, saying to him "That's all we do, isn't it--look at things and try new drinks""(143). The man begins to talk about the abortion, explaining to her "it's all perfectly natural"(144), which is ironic as there is nothing natural about the procedure. She looked out "at the hills on the dry side of the valley and the man looked at her"(146), demonstrating their different manners of viewing things, she sees things very philosophically, while he is very literal, seeing things in the here and now.
Getting frustrated with her lover's lack of understanding or compassion, the girl stands up and walks to the end of the station, putting as much distance between them as the small platform will allow, using setting as a barrier. She is standing, gazing out at the effulgent fields of grain, and is focusing on keeping the baby. Just as the grains provide nutritional sustenance for the people in the area, the infant will provide emotional sustenance for her, something she is not getting from her lover. As she stands there "[t]he shadow of a cloud moved across the field of grain and she saw the river through the trees" (145). The cloud represents the hills, the American's standpoint on the topic as he later urges her to "[c]ome on back in the shade" (145). It is important that the cloud moves over the field, rather than remaining stationary. This change in the natural elements reflects the change occurring in the girl's perspective on the abortion. It seems as though the further he pushes the issue, the more she oppose it. She is looking at the fertile side and starts telling him about how "we could have all this"(145). Initially, she is referring to their traveling lifestyle, referring to the way of life as "it", but in the course of the dialogue "it" becomes the baby. She says, ."..once they take it away, you never get it back"(145). The lateral-minded American never makes this linguistic transition with her, and once again, they are at an emotional impasse.
In order to stop his persistent talk of the abortion, she relents and returns the their table in the shade. Despite her requests, he brings up the topic once again and this quickly drives her to a state of agitation. He pauses briefly and stares at their " bags against the wall of the station. There were labels on them from all the hotels where they had spent nights" (146). To him these bags mark his feelings on the former bohemian lifestyle, and he is beginning to see things from a metaphorical perspective. They are advised that the train will arrive in five minutes; meaning while they are at the height of their clash their decision must be made almost immediately. After a moment the American picks up "the two heavy bags and carried them around the station to the other tracks"(146) from their initial position on the side with the stark, ominous hills, thus signifying his affirmation of her wishes. He takes, what is to him the emblem of their past life together, his "baggage", and brings them to her side of the tracks, the side of life. They've both chosen the same direction in life. Though the text itself does not implicitly reveal their final decision, Hemingway's use of symbolism within the setting make their choice crystal clear: she decides not to have an abortion, and he, though not without staunch reservations, acquiesces.
This is the complete article, containing 1,176 words
(approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page).
