Hills Like White Elephants Context and Background
Hills like White Elephants is set in the Ebro Valley of Spain, at a railway station. Railway Stations are a common symbol in literature and are used to indicate a crossroads. Evidently, the couple in the story is at a crossroads in their life where they must choose to either start a family and forever change their lifestyle or continue with how they have been living. The short story is typical of Hemingway’s sparse style and it conforms to his famous Iceberg technique. Hemingway put forward the Iceberg technique in which the details of the story are only alluded to on the surface while the main content of the story lies in what is not revealed, just as we see the smallest part of a large iceberg that lies mostly beneath the surface of the water. On the surface, the American and Jig are waiting for a train, trying new drinks, and discussing an operation, while in actuality they are trying to decide the kind of life they want to lead.
It is never mentioned whether the American and Jig are married or not, but it can be assumed that they aren’t, mainly from how they approach the subject of abortion. The narrator describes the barren view that greets the American when he looks at the dry valley, which directly contradicts Jig’s view of the valley as her eye is drawn to the fertile banks of the Ebro river. The difference in their perspective of the valley is representative of their opposing views on the matter of pregnancy. The title of the short story is drawn from a comment that Jig makes about the white hills looking like white elephants. The white elephant is an idiom in the English language that represents an expensive yet unwanted gift. Pregnancy is the unwanted gift in this story, a link that is strengthened by the image of hills whose shape is reminiscent of a pregnant belly. The expression is taken from the old Siamese culture of Thailand when Thai kings would gift/punish their dignitaries by presenting them with a white elephant. The white elephant was a sacred animal that could not be easily disposed of, and so it became a momentous drain on the resources of dignitaries, eventually dragging them into bankruptcy.
As the story progresses it becomes apparent that they are both trying to suppress and deal with a gnawing concern that prevents them from having a normal conversation. The characters indulge in heavy drinking instead of dealing with their problems, which is a recurring act in a lot of Hemingway’s writing. It is interesting to note that the narrator refers to the pregnant Jig as a girl but refers to the other female in the short story as a woman. The story features a rather twisted relationship in which the American seems to oppress Jig and prevents her from making her own decisions. It seems like Jig is trying to make all her choices to please the man, however, she is certain that going through with the abortion will change them forever while he thinks that they can leave it behind them like a bad travel journey. She tells him that they cannot have the world anymore, and although he tries to tell her otherwise, she doesn’t believe him.
