Interpretation

 

 

The short story Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway is about a young couple that is going through an abortion debate after finding out they are expecting. The word abortion is not used in the story, but you get the idea through the setting and symbolism. The story is set in Madrid, Spain during the late 1920’s, at a train station. The setting adds to the stories dilemma because at a train station you must pick which way to go, and there are only two choices, which is what this young couple is facing now with their drastic decision they must make. the landscape of the train station plays a role in the conflict of the story through its symbolism.

When the girl begins to speak about the hills looking like white elephants, it has several meanings. One is that white elephants are very uncommon, this could be symbolic to the fact that  in some women it is uncommon to conceive a child, or that the color white symbolizes innocence and purity of her unborn child. She then admires the rest of the scenery. The fields of grain and trees represent fertility and fruitfulness, which symbolize her current pregnant state and the life in her womb. The Ebro River also represents life, as it germinates the fields.

After an exchange of words with the man she again looks at the scenery, but this time in a different way, as the following sentence illustrates: “They sat down at the table and the girl looked across the hills on the dry side of the valley and the man looked at her and at the table.” The man is obviously in favor of the abortion, and everything he says is an effort to persuade her into it. As she considers his point of view she looks at the dry side of the valley, which is barren and sterile, symbolizing her body after the abortion.

The American apparently does not want to have the baby, he is in favor for the abortion. He wants to keep living his adventurous life, that includes traveling, drinking, and not having to worry about responsibilities. And if he has this baby he would have to settle down and raise a family, and he would not be able to fulfill his youthful desires of traveling the world.

The story ends with the couple expecting their train’s arrival in five minutes. There is no resolution and there is no decision stated regarding the abortion. This story was not only intended for the pleasures of reading, but also though provocation. Hemingway has intentionally left the readers to conclude for themselves what will happen next.