Ernest Hemingway remains one of the most recognized and influential writers of the twentieth century. Known for his sparse writing style and macho persona, he was a master of what he called the “iceberg theory,” the idea that what is left unseen and unsaid in a story may be just as meaningful as what is recorded on the page. In other words, what lurks beneath the surface of a story, or a person, might be greater than what is visible from above. Hills Like White Elephants is quintessential Hemingway in this regard: understated, yet charged with meaning.
“Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway was included in the Thornwillow Dispatch in January 2023.
First published in 1927, Hills Like White Elephants continues to resonate today. The story centers around an American man and a young woman nicknamed “Jig” as they pass time drinking at a Spanish train station. Their conversation is vague but tense, and revolves around an “operation” which the man suggests his companion might undergo, and although they never say the word, it is generally accepted that their discussion concerns an abortion.
In typical Hemingway fashion, the conclusion of Hills Like White Elephants—including the moral conclusion—is left largely to the reader’s interpretation. Historical evidence suggests that Hemingway himself had a contentious—and self-contradictory—relationship to abortion. As we have seen dramatically in recent months, today’s broader societal struggle surrounding abortion remains unresolved. Nearly 100 years after this story’s publication, and half a century after Roe v. Wade, the debate over crucial questions of agency, influence, and bodily autonomy continues.
