Ernest Hemingway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants" is a masterclass in subtext, where the titular landscape serves as a potent symbol for the profound, unspoken decision confronting its two protagonists. The barren, yet potentially fertile, hills mirror the couple's dilemma regarding an abortion. The story's power lies not in explicit pronouncements but in the pregnant pauses, the clipped dialogue, and the charged symbolism of the setting. Through this carefully constructed imagery, Hemingway explores themes of communication breakdown, the burden of choice, and the diverging paths individuals take within relationships, ultimately suggesting that the choice itself, and the inability to fully confront it, creates an irreparable chasm.
The setting of the Ebro valley train station, suspended between Barcelona and Madrid, is crucial. The waiting, the transitionary space, perfectly encapsulates the couple's own state of limbo. The "hills like white elephants" are presented by the girl, Jig, as a fleeting, almost whimsical observation, yet they carry significant symbolic weight. White elephants are historically seen as rare and valuable, but also burdens, often gifted to enemies by Siamese kings to bankrupt them. This duality—precious yet burdensome—mirrors the potential child. Jig’s initial fascination with the hills (“They look like white elephants”) suggests a fleeting curiosity, perhaps even a nascent desire, or at least an openness to the idea. However, the American’s immediate dismissal of her observation, focusing instead on the dryness of the landscape and the lack of water, reveals his pragmatic, almost dismissive attitude towards anything that deviates from his predetermined path. His desire for the "awfully simple operation" to remain "perfectly normal" highlights his fear of change and his desperate attempt to maintain the status quo of their carefree, itinerant lifestyle.
The contrast between the two sides of the valley further amplifies the central conflict. The side where the couple sits is dry and barren, populated by "brown hills and dry, dusty grass and the river." This reflects the emotional aridity of their relationship and the potential sterility of a life without children, or a life shaped by a decision they cannot fully reconcile. Jig’s gaze shifts to the other side of the valley, which is described as "all in the sun and the trees are very thick. There are green herbs." This side represents fertility, life, and perhaps the possibility of a future together, albeit one different from the one they currently inhabit. Jig’s longing for this verdant side, her observation that "They look cool and dark," suggests a yearning for something more substantial, a deeper connection, and a future that holds potential for growth and renewal. The American’s persistent redirection of her attention back to the dry side, and his insistence on the simplicity of the operation, underscores his resistance to confronting the implications of parenthood and his desire to preserve their current freedom.
The dialogue itself is a performance of miscommunication. The American repeatedly assures Jig that he wants her to be happy and that the operation is "terribly simple." Yet, his language is fraught with insincerity, a desperate attempt to placate and control. He says, "I don't want you to do it if you don't really want to. I said that already. I have said it lots of times." This repetition reveals his anxiety and his underlying pressure. Jig, in turn, uses passive-aggressive remarks and veiled accusations, such as, "And if I do it you'll be happy and things will be like they were and you'll love me?" Her questions, though framed as seeking reassurance, are pointed challenges to his superficiality. The tension builds not from what is said, but from what is deliberately left unsaid. The "white elephants" become a silent referendum on their relationship, a symbol of a decision that threatens to either enrich their lives or burden them into oblivion, depending on their capacity to embrace it.
Ultimately, the story concludes without a resolution to the central dilemma, emphasizing the enduring nature of their conflict and the profound impact of unspoken truths. The American carries the bags to the other side of the station, a physical movement that mirrors Jig's internal struggle to orient herself towards a different future. Her final statement, "I feel fine—there was nothing wrong with me. I feel fine," is deeply ironic, a façade of normalcy masking her profound unease and the lingering weight of the unmade, or perhaps already made, decision. The "hills like white elephants" remain in the background, silent witnesses to a relationship fractured by a choice that could either redefine it or destroy it, a testament to Hemingway's skill in revealing the deepest human anxieties through spare prose and resonant symbolism.