Hills Like White Elephants and Feminism

Women’s status has become more important in recent history. Women used to be seen as the angel of the house. They were seen as mothers and submissive housewives. With the Women’s Rights Movements between 1848-1920, they became aware of their status in society. There were many debates about their right to choose what they want to do with their body, or simply: “abortion” In 1927, Ernest Hemingway wrote a short story named Hills Like White Elephants. It was both a feminist and paternalistic story. Hemingway indicated women’s right to have an abortion and men’s reaction to this by the development of the characters, she can decide what she wants in spite of her boyfriend’s pressure towards her to have an abortion. There are thoughts and reflections on the society toward abortion in Hills Like White Elephants.

Hills Like White Elephants takes place in Spain. Spain is a Catholic country. People saw abortion as a sin. They were not ready to face the fact that abortion is a natural thing and a right in 1927. With the Women's Rights Movement in the 1920s, women gained consciousness and tried to get their rights back. However, contraceptives were banned until roughly 1975 and abortion was illegal until 1985. The American and Jig may have been traveling to Madrid for an illegal abortion because the capital offered a better chance of locating one. 

The story begins with a description of a train station where the events took place. Narrated time of the story is less than 40 minutes. It’s written in 3rd person and objectively. It consists of dialogues and easy statements. Its theme is generally about abortion. There are two characters in the story. The unnamed American and the girl named Jig. The American is a reflection of Hemingway’s masculinity. He is knowledgeable, he can speak Spanish and English. He keeps situations under his control. He is a heavy drinker. He likes to taste new drinks. He is probably a wealthy man who likes to travel. He is indifferent and untrustworthy. The American wants her girlfriend to have an operation. According to him, it’s a very simple operation, it’s not even surgery. He thinks of himself as a more reasonable person than his girlfriend. He doesn’t want to marry Jig, but he claims that he is willing to do so. 

On the other hand, Jig is less assertive, and persuasive compared to the man, and she is indecisive, helpless, and needy. She can’t even order her drink on her own. She can’t speak Spanish because of that she needs an American. She only cares about the Americans, but she can’t decide whether she should have the operation or not. She just wants everything back to normal but she is aware of the fact that nothing is going to be the same again. Their relationship with America has ended. American is not aware of this fact. She says they still can’t have the whole world like they once did, even if she has the operation.

The psychological evolution of the female protagonist, Jig can be divided into four stages. In the first stage, we come across the stereotypical passive, submissive woman, she doesn’t even know what’s in her head. She follows a male leader which is her boyfriend and he controls her life.

In the second stage, she awakens in her mind. She realizes her own welfare, dreams, and values. She develops a feminist mind. She feels anxious because of the man and agrees to have an abortion by saying, “Then I’ll do it. Because I don’t care about me”. She realizes that her boyfriend is acting selfishly and recklessly. Jig knows it’s a risky operation but he talks about it as if it was not an operation at all. 

Hemingway expresses the third stage through the setting of the story. Jig mentions earlier that the hills look like white elephants, an animal that is considered rare, precious, and sacred—symbolizing an unborn child. The two sides of the hill reflect the story’s conflict over abortion: the side the couple sits at is described as “brown and dry” and having no trees whereas “the other side, were fields of grain and trees along the banks”. The first side is barren, dry, and lacking life reflecting the decision to have an abortion. The other side of the hills is full of life and color symbolizing the chance to have a family and to keep the baby.

In the final stage, she completes her development and becomes self-realized. She decides not to have an abortion. We can understand her decision through her boyfriend’s statement, “I’d better take the bags over to the other side of the station”. Jig decides what she wants.

There is another point, at the end of the story, “She was sitting at the table and smiled at him”. The smile symbolizes that she is happy to make her own decision, she is satisfied with asserting herself. Besides, she is excited to become a mother. Additionally, Jig advances her feminist development through the last line in the story, “There’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine”.