Taboo In Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

Taboo; explained as ‘A social or religious custom prohibiting or forbidding discussion of a particular practice or forbidding association with a particular person, place, or thing.’ Ernest Hemingway the author of “Hills Like White Elephants” speaks throughly about a taboo subject in which generally in most places around the globe is less spoken about let alone discussed in a public setting. The setting of the story is set to be most likely in the early 1920’s. The short story begins with a couple, Jig and an unnamed man who are sitting down at a train station overlooking the Ebro River somewhere between Madrid, Spain and Barcelona, Spain which is proven here in the story “The girl stood up and walked to the end of the station. Across, on the

other side, were fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro. Far away, beyond the river, were mountains. The shadow of a cloud moved across the field of grain and she saw the river through the trees.” The taboo subject discussed in the train station between the man and Jig was abortion. Yet Hemingway himself never has used that specific word throughout the story, he snuck many hints for us readers to come up with that conclusion. The quote that was highlighted most in my head as I was reading the story came towards the ending of the story, ‘I love you now. You know I love you.’ ‘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?’ ‘I’ll love it. I love it now but I just can’t think about it. You know how I get when I worry.’ Here Hemingway choose to bloom the subject that the two characters are discussing.

Previously to the quote stated above it almost seemed as if the man was trying his hardest to convince Jig to go through with the abortion itself as they were both enjoying a few drinks.

He states ‘I know you wouldn’t mind it, Jig. It’s really not anything. It’s just to let the air in.’ and ‘I’ll go with you and I’ll stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it’s all perfectly natural.’ Hemingway choose specific words in order to make the man sound like he is trying his best to convince Jig. Words such as “air”, “natural”, “perfectly” and “just” bring a sense of calmness to the discussion and to Jig herself. I think Hemingway did this purposely because he is trying to make the discussion between the two characters sound more of a debate. A debate in which the man isn’t fully trying to take force of the situation maybe with violence but in a more peaceful way of by using calm words and talking with a tone that shows he cares for Jig. It almost seems as if Jig doesn’t know what she wants from this discussion. She seems to be hesitant on wether or not to go through with the operation. This debate that Hemingway is trying to portray in the discussion between the two characters could very well be proof of the male dominance in society in the early 1900’s. Throughout the story the man seems to be in control of the conversation; reassuring Jig that it will be fine, that he will be with her and that the operation itself is very basic and simple that she can do it with ease. At the same time Jig seems to be the one that has less control of the situation even though it is her body and the child of course is within her. This causes Jig to question if she should listen to the man or not. She states ‘And if I do it you’ll be happy and things will be like they were and you’ll love me?’ which proves her hesitation and lack of power within the situation. It’s almost as if the man himself is trying to convince a child to not do something in order for him to

gain something in return. For instance, it seems as if the man is asking a small child to get him a beer from the fridge because he is too tired or lazy to get it for himself; and in return the man will love the small child more than he has previously. Also the fact in which she asked if he would still love her if she was to go through with the operation is another clear hint to the fact that whatever she decides to do, she will do it but not for her own sake but rather for the mans. Another example of male dominance in the story is early on when they ordered drinks.“We want two Anis del Toro” “With water?” [Waitress] “Do you want it with water?” “I don’t know,” the girl said. “Is it good with water?” “It’s alright.” “You want them with water?” asked the woman. “Yes, with water.” Here Jig’s submissive to the man in which she seems to have little to no choice in what she orders. Hemingway creatively brings out this culture based belief that men are more dominant in the society than women. He hides bits and pieces to this puzzle throughout the story which helps the readers get a more focused image on the setting, culture and the discussion of abortion of which time period this story was written in.