Women's Roles in Hills Like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway

The station, a common ground or meeting place, is representative of the relationship between the American and Jig. The tracks leading in and out of the station describe the emotional pathways each of them takes. The American is almost exactly opposite to Jig, free spirited and not wanting a change. Jig is love struck and torn. She has to decide between her love for the American man and her love of her unborn child. The American is set on convincing Jig that there is no harm in what she is considering. He tries to calm Jig by telling her "We’ll be fine afterwards, just like we were before"(24). Jig is not convinced. She is not as confident or as willing as the American to rush off into such a carefree decision. The luggage, covered with hotel labels, plays a significant part in understanding how Jig feels in regard to the decision that she had to make. She was obviously torn between remaining reckless and carefree and making a family with the man she loved. Jig reacts almost visibly in their conversation.

Wyche disputes all the critics who suggested that the text was either about whether Jig should carry the pregnancy to a full term or have an abortion. Wyche feels that the text was a metaphor representing pain which comes as a result of an end of a relationship between two people. One of his main ideas was therefore to dispute some of the ideas that critics had put forward in the past and bring forward a new meaning to the short story. As Wyche noted most of the critics saw a metaphor of abortion but failed to see that the abortion could also be used as metaphor to mean something else which in this case means the pain of a breakup. By bringing other critic’s point of view into play, he successfully acknowledges what they wrote and their ideas but also presents him with a point to dispute the same. Even if he does not refuse the ideas produced by earlier critics, the author presents a different point of view from whatever was presented before.

“Perfectly simple” is restated a couple of times in the conversation which tells us that out of the two only one wants the child and the other doesn’t want the child (Hemingway). The American man thoughts are not more important than Jig’s. Even if the American man is supporting her to get an abortion it’s still Jigs decision. His opinion does matter to her because she wants his thoughts about what’s best for them and their unborn child. Jig is torn between remaining reckless and carefree and making a family with the man she loves. “‘Because I don’t care about me’” states that she is willing to do almost anything for the American man but is blocked by her mother instinct to protect her child (Hemingway). Jig is indecisive in what she wants because she questions herself and the American man what if questions. “‘I realize…can’t we maybe stop talking’” this tells us Jig finally realizes that by asking a lot of rhetorical questions to the American man she has the answer she needs even if it’s not the answer that she wants (Hemingway).

In Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”, the American and Jig are like the tracks at the train station, they can never meet. While Jig represents fertility, life and continuity, the American represents sterility, dryness and death. Unfortunately, Jig depends emotionally on the American – as many women depended on their male counterparts in the 1940s – and lacks the autonomy and willpower required to openly affirm herself in their relationship. As they struggle to find common ground, the very discussion that can bring them together only tears them apart. The differences in each character – in their personality, means of

“Hills Like White Elephants” tells a story of a man and woman sitting at station waiting on a train to take them to Madrid. The story is told from the narrator’s point of view. There are two main characters. The man is referred to as the American and the woman is called Jig. The man is the antagonist and the protagonist is Jig. The story is more about Jig and her current situation. There is very little information given about the characters but the reader is told that Jig is going to Madrid to have an operation but only hints about the type of operation. The reader is led to believe Jig is going to have an abortion. In the short story “Hills like White Elephants”, the author Ernest Hemingway portrays “Jig”, the protagonist as a mixture

Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” was written before the 1950s and takes place at a train station in Spain. The definition of a white elephant is a possession that is useless or troublesome, especially one that is expensive to maintain or difficult to dispose of. In the story the main character Jig is pregnant by the other main character the American. The American tries to persuade Jig to have an abortion, but Jig’s feelings are very conflicted. Hemingway uses theme, setting, persuasive writing, and verbal irony in the story, which all contribute to shaping different moods.

There are several instances in the story that “the American” reiterates “Jig’s” options for her future. Although he expresses that he would support and love her no matter what the ultimate choice is, she feels conflicted and her pain, which builds throughout the story and as the conversation progresses, becomes more obvious. What is most interesting is, as his second thoughts about the unspoken abortion spike, her resistance to discuss the topic any further grows in tandem. Although the two heroes’ love for one another is evident, there is the aching uncertainty between them: Is there room for a child in their relationship built of travelling, drinking, and discovery?

The ending of the story is rather ambiguous as it is not completely obvious what decision the two end up making. The man could have talked the girl into undergoing the procedure, or not. At one point toward the end, Jig tells him to “please please please please please please please stop talking”, and when he doesn’t she threatens to scream. This probably means that she had made up her mind, but it could be in either direction. In the end, she smiles at him, and he asks her if she feels better; she says that she feels fine. That could mean that she had made peace with the decision to abort their child or that she was proud of herself for finally standing up to him and making her choice not to abort final. Either way, making this choice is harder on her as she would be the one to undergo the operation, and she very well knows that he most likely will not stay with her if she decides to keep the child. No matter what she chooses, however, their relationship will never be the same.

The negative connotation of a white elephant is expressed in this explanation. It is this negative meaning that is describing the hills, or her pregnant stomach and the unborn child. Further on in their conversation regarding the decision to be made, Jig says to the man, “I know. But if I do it then it will be nice again if I say things are like white elephants and you’ll like it?” (Hemingway). The girl deliberately asks the man whether the decision of aborting the child will better their lives, or continue moving them down the path of unhappiness. The decision that Jig is faced with ties back to the main theme that Hemingway portrays throughout the short story, decision and indecision. The constant uncertainty that is revealed through the girl’s character is seen in other instances as well.

Moreover, the story contains the word "two” throughout it, which reinforces that Jig and her boyfriend only are not ready to be a three unit family, that they are happy right now with two people. They had "two glasses of beer and two felt pads," the train only "stopped at this junction for two minutes" (614), and they only had "two heavy bags" (617). They are not ready for a child and that is why there is an emphasis on the word two. Ironically, the word “two” could also mean that Jig feels that she is ready to have the baby. She could be seeing herself and the baby as two and thus she is thinking of keeping the baby.

The girl remarks that she and the American man never do anything together except try new drinks. This can represent that their relationship is boring and mundane which seems to bother the girl. These feelings can reflect that girl may be ready for change and a chance to settle down, unlike the man who doesn't seem interested in changing his carefree ways. She also asks the man permission for a drink and has to rely on him to order the drinks because of her inability to speak Spanish. She appears disappointed that she is so dependent on the man and no matter what her decision may be, their relationship will no longer be the same. After trying the new drink she replies that “Everything tastes like licorice. Especially all the things you’ve waited so long for like absinthe” (Hemingway 655). Another symbolism that Jig is now feeling bittersweet about the decision because she may want to have the baby, but the man's decision is to have the abortion.

Jig attempts to make a crucial change in her life by making the right decision,

Jig's main objective throughout the story is ensuring that her partner is happy. This is apparent when she tells him that she will go through with the abortion. "Then I'll do it. Because I don't care about me." "And I'll do it and then everything will be fine." Through these comments it is evident that she truly believes if she has an abortion their relationship will be fine giving little thought to the emotional and physical trauma the procedure will cause. Jig's subservient attitude is indicative of her low self esteem throughout the story. She allows herself to be shaped by a man whose care for her is more than obviously not a reciprocation of hers for

“Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway and “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood share a gender-oriented theme. They both show women struggling to attain equality against their male partners. This theme is depicted through the use of symbolism, point of view and plot conflict.

Relationships can be difficult, but a lot of couples work through the difficultly by supporting and helping each other. In the short story “Hills like White Elephants”, written by Ernest Hemingway, an unnamed American and a young woman, named Jig, are waiting for a train to arrive. Set in the mid-1920s, the couple are sitting at a bar drinking beers, and awaiting to travel to their next destination. Talking vaguely with each other, Jig describes the hills as “white elephants”, meaning an unwanted gift. During the story, the couple discuss an ‘operation’ that the man wants the girl to have, but she doesn’t to want to, symbolizing wanting to keep their unborn child. In this story, “Hills like White Elephant”, the theme is the ending of a relationship, by the of lack of communication, selfishness and choices.