Hills Like White

Elephants

"Hills Like White Elephants" is a short story

by Ernest Hemingway. It was first
published in August 1927, in the literary
magazine transition, then later in the 1927
short story collection Men Without
Women. Later the story was adapted for
film in 2002. "Hills Like White Elephants" is
a short 38-minute film; British actor Greg
Wise played The American.[1]
 "Hills Like White Elephants"

by Ernest Hemingway

Country United States

Language English

Genre(s) short story

Published in Men Without Women

Publication type short story collection

Publication date 1927

Chronology

← Preceded by Followed by →

In Another Country The Killers
Synopsis
The story focuses mainly on a
conversation between an American man
and a young woman, described as a "girl,"
at a Spanish train station while waiting for
a train to Madrid. The girl compares the
nearby hills to white elephants. The pair
indirectly discuss an "operation" that the
man wants the girl to have, which is
implied to be an abortion, that was taboo
to talk about.
Analysis
While there is little context or background
information about the characters, several
scholars have analyzed how the setting
influences the story. The expatriate
atmosphere is "a motivating factor in
character action," writes Jeffrey Herlihy in
In Paris or Paname: Hemingway’s
Expatriate Nationalism. Setting the piece
in Spain "dramatizes the peripatetic
subject" and allows the man to discuss
abortion outside the "restraints from the
behavioral prescriptions of his place of
origin." This use of a foreign setting makes
Spain not merely a background but "a
catalyst of textual irony" in the story.[2]

Readers must come to their own

conclusions based on the dialogue. This
has led to varying interpretations of the
story. One point of debate is whether or
not the woman decides to get an abortion.
Critics like Stanley Renner assert that the
details in the story imply that the woman
decides to keep the baby: "The logic of the
story's design enjoins the conclusion that
she smiles brightly at the waitress's
announcement of the train because she is
no longer headed in the direction of having
the abortion that she has contemplated
only with intense distress".[3] Other critics
conclude that the woman ultimately
decides to get an abortion.[4] Furthermore,
most critics acknowledge that the story
has several possible interpretations: "The
two organizing questions of the narrative—
will they have the abortion or the baby?
Will they break up or stay together?—imply
four possible outcomes: 1) they will have
the abortion and break up; 2) they will have
the abortion and stay together; 3) they will
have the baby and break up; and 4) they
will have the baby and stay together".[5]
There are many essays written which
argue for all of these possibilities and
more. There is no universal consensus
because of the nature of the story; the
reader is simply not given much
information.

Symbolism

The description of the valley of Ebro, in the

opening paragraph, is often seen as having
deeper meanings: "It has long been
recognized that the two sides of the valley
of the Ebro represent two ways of life, one
a sterile perpetuation of the aimless
hedonism the couple have been pursuing,
the other a participation in life in its full
natural sense."[3] Critics also point to the
various positions of the characters, with
relation to the train tracks and the valley, to
show a wide variety of possible symbolic
interpretations.[3]

Doris Lanier writes about the significance

of absinthe (which the girl is reminded of
when they drink anisette) in the story.
Lanier explains the drink "was alluring not
only because of its narcotic effects but
also because of its reputation as an
aphrodisiac."[4] Lanier asserts that every
detail in "Hills Like White Elephants" is
intentionally placed by Hemingway, and
that the absinthe could have several
possible connotations. She postulates that
"the addictive quality of the drink…is meant
to emphasize the addictive nature of the
couple's lifestyle…It is an empty,
meaningless existence that revolves
around traveling, sex, drinking, looking at
things, and having pointless conversations
about these things".[4] Another possible
interpretation of the absinthe relates to its
appeal and effects. Like the man and
woman's relationship, it is alluring at first,
but "it becomes a destroyer of the child,
who is aborted; a destroyer of the girl, who
endures the physical and emotional pain
of aborting the child she wants; and a
destroyer of the couple's relationship".[4] It
is important to note that this interpretation
assumes the couple have the abortion and
end their relationship, as well as that the
young woman wants to continue the
pregnancy; none of these are certain, due
to the ambiguity of the story.

The title "Hills Like White Elephants" is a

symbol within Hemingway's short story
that requires analysis to depict its
meaning and relevance to the story as
well. Repetition of words and phrases is a
common trait found within Hemingway's
short story, a habit that is not done without
cause. This was done in an attempt to
emphasize importance on certain matters,
such as he does with the title of the story.
Within the story, Hemingway makes "two
references to the whiteness of the hills
and four to them as white elephants".[6]
The most common belief as to the
meaning of this reference has to do with
color comparisons used throughout the
story. In correlation with the drink
"absinthe" as mentioned above, there is
believed to be a contrast of joy and sorrow
between the black licorice of the alcoholic
drink and the whiteness of the hills. This
can also be contrasted with the
comparison between the white hills and
the dry, brown countryside that represents
the same joy and sorrow as the former.
However, the true meaning of the title does
not become fully known until the topic of
getting an abortion is revealed between
the couple, as the man states, it's an
"awfully simple question... not really an
operation at all... just to let the air in". It is
then understood that the use of the term
"white elephants" may in fact be a
reference to the white elephant sale. It's a
sale put together through the donation of
unwanted gifts, making the reader believe
that this may be correlating with the act of
getting an abortion. It could also mean the
literal translation of elephant in the room
meaning something painfully obvious that
is not to be spoken about or referenced.
"Elephant in the room" is a term used
mainly by couples having a relationship
crisis or difficulty including break-ups,
divorce, cheating, marriage, adoption, or
abortion. This is viewed differently
between the couple. The child is seen "as
simply a white elephant to the man" to be
rid of, whereas the woman only sees it as
this due to the father's views.[7]

The final reference to the hills is when the

girl contemplates her decision of getting
an abortion through the following line, "it
will be nice again if I say things are like
white elephants, and you'll like it?" This is
to provide an immediate understanding of
the white elephant reference when we
learn that the story's conflict revolves
around an unwanted pregnancy is
associated with the ubiquitous white
elephant sale. These sales raise money
that is worthwhile cause for people to
donate unwanted objects. This is shown in
"Hills Like White Elephants" as to the man,
the girl is a white elephant with the child.[8]

Another important symbol in the story is

the bamboo curtain. Many interpretations
see the curtain as a barrier between Jig
and the American. Literally, the curtain is a
barrier between the American and the girl
while he drinks in the bar among other
"reasonable people" while the girl sits
outside. Figuratively, the beaded curtain
separates Jig, a sensitive girl who notices
and touches the beads from the American
who only acknowledges the drink
advertisement and pays no more attention
to the curtain than the hills.

David Gilmour points out that the bead

curtain has an even more specific
symbolism. When Jig takes hold of two
strands, the American believes that she
views them as a rosary, giving a clue to Jig
being Catholic.[9] Gilmour goes on to state
that any leap to thinking of Spain,
Catholicism, and the abortion as
connected ideas is a stretch and if Jig
were praying, she would most likely be
praying to turn back time so that she may
not be entangled with the American. This
belief is supported when she states, while
holding the two strands, that she wants
things to be as they were before. In
contrast, Gary Elliott writes that the
beaded curtain and its similarity to a
rosary lends insight to the girl’s reluctance
to go through with the abortion and is
almost certainly indicative of her Catholic
background. He goes on to say that while
the curtain is a physical barrier between
the two, it is really her religion, symbolized
by the beads, that separates them.[9]
Dialogue
"They look like white elephants,"
she said.
"I've never seen one," the man
drank his beer.
"No, you wouldn't have."
"I might have," the man said.
"Just because you say I wouldn't
have doesn't prove anything."
The girl looked at the bead
curtain. "They've painted
something on it," she said.
"What does it say?"
 "Anis del Toro. It's a drink."
"Can we try it?"

The reader must interpret their dialogue

and body language to infer their
backgrounds and their attitudes with
respect to the situation at hand, and their
attitudes toward one another. From the
outset of the story, the contentious nature
of the couple's conversation indicates
resentment and unease. Some critics have
written that the dialogue is a distillation of
the contrasts between stereotypical male
and female relationship roles: in the
excerpt above, for instance, the woman
draws the comparison with white
elephants, but the hyper-rational male
immediately denies it, dissolving the bit of
poetry into objective realism with "I've
never seen one." By saying, "No, you
wouldn't have" she implies he hadn't had a
child before, or hadn't allowed birth in the
past. She also asks his permission to
order a drink. Throughout the story, the
woman is distant; the American is
rational.[10] There may be more serious
problems with the relationship than the
purely circumstantial. Though the
immediate problem is the unwanted
pregnancy, the experience has revealed
that the relationship is a shallow one.
While most critics have espoused
relatively straightforward interpretations of
the dialogue, a few have argued for
alternate scenarios.[3]

Reception
"Hills Like White Elephants" has been
criticized for being anti-feminist; it has
also been interpreted as being pro-
feminist. The anti-feminist perspective
emphasizes the notion that the man
dominates the woman in the story, and she
ultimately succumbs to his will by getting
the abortion. Frederick Busch asserts that
the woman "'buries her way of seeing as
she will bury her child.'"[11] However, critics
also argue that the female character
makes her own decision in the end, and
the story is actually pro-feminist.[3] Stanley
Renner claims that "Hills Like White
Elephants" is primarily empathetic towards
the female character: "So firmly does the
story's sympathy side with the girl and her
values, so strong is her repugnance toward
the idea of abortion, and so critical is the
story of the male's self-serving reluctance
to shoulder the responsibility of the child
he has begotten that the reading I have
proposed seems the most logical
resolution to its conflict."[3] However, Doris
Lanier describes the drink that the woman
has as "absinthe," a narcotic that the man
uses to influence the woman's mind.[12]
References
1. Cumberbatch, Benedict. "Hills Like White
Elephants (2002) | Benedict Cumberbatch"
(http://benedict-cumberbatch.de/en/portf
olio/hills-like-white-elephants-2002-eng/) .
Retrieved 2022-11-25.

2. Herlihy, Jeffrey (2011). In Paris or

Paname: Hemingway's Expatriate
Nationalism (https://www.academia.edu/
982945) . New York: Rodopi. p. 3.
ISBN 978-9042034099.
3. Renner, Stanley (Fall 1995). "Moving to the
Girl's Side of 'Hills Like White Elephants' ".
The Hemingway Review. 15 (1): 27–41.
Gale A17915321 (https://go.gale.com/ps/
anonymous?id=GALE%7CA17915321)
EBSCOhost 9511291478 (http://search.eb
scohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AN=
9511291478) .

4. Lanier, Doris (Summer 1989). "The

Bittersweet Taste of Absinthe in
Hemingway's "Hills Like White
Elephants." ". Studies in Short Fiction. 26:
279–288. EBSCOhost 7133560 (http://sea
rch.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true
&AN=7133560) .
5. Gillette, Meg (Spring 2007). "Making
Modern Parents in Ernest Hemingway's
"Hills Like White Elephants" and Viña
Delmar's Bad Girl". MFS Modern Fiction
Studies. 53: 50–69.
doi:10.1353/mfs.2007.0023 (https://doi.or
g/10.1353%2Fmfs.2007.0023) .
S2CID 162349564 (https://api.semanticsc
holar.org/CorpusID:162349564) .

6. Weeks Jr., Lewis. "Hemingway Hills:

Symbolism in 'Hills Like White Elephants' ".
Studies in Short Fiction. 17 (1): 75–77.
EBSCOhost 7134801 (http://search.ebsco
host.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AN=713
4801) .
7. Lanier, Doris. "The Bittersweet Taste of
Absinthe in Hemingway's 'Hill's Like White
Elephants' ". Studies in Short Fiction. 26
(3): 279–288. EBSCOhost 7133560 (htt
p://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire
ct=true&AN=7133560) .

8. Weeks, Lewis E (Winter 1980).

"Hemingway Hills: Symbolism in 'Hills Like
White Elephants' ". Studies in Short
Fiction. 17 (1): 75. ProQuest 1297934332
(https://search.proquest.com/docview/12
97934332) .
 9. Gilmour, David R. (June 1983).
"Hemingway's Hills like White Elephants".
The Explicator. 41 (4): 47–49.
doi:10.1080/00144940.1983.11483720 (h
ttps://doi.org/10.1080%2F00144940.198
3.11483720) .

10. Smiley, Pamela (Fall 1988). "Gender-

Linked Miscommunication in 'Hills Like
White Elephants' ". Hemingway Review. 8
(1): 2. EBSCOhost 6915432 (http://search.
ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&A
N=6915432) .
11. Rankin, Paul (January 2005).
"Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants".
The Explicator. 63 (4): 234–237.
doi:10.1080/00144940509596952 (http
s://doi.org/10.1080%2F00144940509596
952) . S2CID 162358499 (https://api.sem
anticscholar.org/CorpusID:162358499) .

12. Lanier, Doris (1 July 1989). "The

Bittersweet Taste of Absinthe in
Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" "
(https://ir.stthomas.edu/hemingway/103
0/) . Studies in Short Fiction. 26 (3): 279–
288. ProQuest 1297941665 (https://searc
h.proquest.com/docview/1297941665) .
External links
Full text of "Hills Like White Elephants"
at HathiTrust Digital Library (https://bab
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09039069&view=1up&seq=85)

The full text of Hills Like White

Elephants at Wikisource

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title=Hills_Like_White_Elephants&oldid=115940851
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