Hills Like White Elephants by Hemingway took place in Spain during 1927. It was a time of great controversy over the ideals of abortion. During this time period abortion was illegal and frowned upon in Catholic Spain as well as in the United States until the Roe vs. Wade court case of 1973. Throughout the story the American man describes an abortion as an “awfully simple operation” and “perfectly natural,” but as history has shown it’s not as simple and natural as he has believed it to be. The girl realizes this and her morals stand in the way of their relationship which has brought them to a crossroad. Due to the stigma of the concept of abortion in the late nineteen twenties, the girl’s conscience has been beaten into the ground. Her excessive drinking, constant change in subject, and willingness to cause a scene, points to the erosion of her mental state. 

During 1927, when Hemmingway wrote Hills Like White Elephants prohibition was in effect from the 18th amendment passed in 1919, making alcohol illegal in the United States. Hemingway elaborates on the couple’s consumption of alcohol as a way to establish the history of their relationship which has led to the deterioration of the girl’s emotional state. The American man tells the woman “we want two Anis del Toro.” The girl said “It tastes like licorice” and he said “that’s the way with everything.” The girl agreed with him and said “yes, everything tastes of licorice. Especially all the things you’ve waited so long for, like absinthe” which aggravates the man and tells her “Oh, cut it out” (528). Through the man’s response, one can argue that he introduced her to the drink and always drinks with her to get her sexually aroused to feed his desire. Johnston in Hills Like White Elephants: lean, vintage Hemingway, claims that Hemingway’s allusion to absinthe reminds the couple of their passionate past. Absinthe is an extremely potent and “forbidden” drink outlawed in France, Switzerland, the United States, and other countries, but still legal in Spain. According to Johnston, it was banned because it acts powerfully on the nervous system and is thought to cause sterility. The man may have thought that giving her absinthe would make her sterile preventing the situation they are in now. He quickly realizes that the operation needs to take place in order for them to regress to their former passionate relationship. The girl is on the opposing end of this argument and is emotional distraught by the decision so she continues to drink in an attempt to cope with the pain caused by the man’s selfishness and insensitivity. Johnston claims that the man’s empty, barren life style is summed up by the girl: “That’s all we do, isn’t it- look at things and try new drinks” (528). Even though, the girl acknowledges the fact that drinking is all they ever do, she is still afraid to lose him and knows that a child will send him on his way. One can see that the girl continues to drink throughout the story in order escape the emotional toll of her decision.

Throughout the story, the girl attempts to change the subject to avoid the conflict that has arisen due to her pregnancy. She was exasperated by the man’s persistent effort to bombard her with his thought that she should get an abortion, after continuously changing the subject. In an effort to change the topic, the girl says to the man “they’re lovely hills. Don’t you think they look like white elephants?” he quickly disagrees so she retracts her statement and says “They don’t really look like white elephants. I just meant the coloring of their skin through the trees” (528). Johnston argues that the girl has the imagination to see white elephants, whereas the earthbound man can see only long white hills. To Johnston there is no doubt she is thinking of her swelling pregnancy as she gazes at the swollen mounds of earth. She has reached the breaking point of her dilemma and has no one to reach out to for help. She knows going through with the pregnancy we guarantee that the man will walk away, but she is in a tug of war between the man and her morals. Her reluctance to talk about the abortion shows the reader that she has heard enough about what the man has to say and wants to hear no more from him because it is tearing her apart from the inside out. The man becomes insensitive to the fact that she doesn’t want to talk about it and keeps trying to persuade her to get an abortion. She became so fed up with him and said “could we have another beer” then “can’t we maybe stop talking?” (530) She wanted a time to think rationally for herself and not have the emotional pressure of his bounding words repeating in her head to get an abortion. Even after she said that, he wouldn’t stop talking so in her final ditch effort she asked him “would you do something for me now?” he said “I’d do anything for you” and finally she yells out “would you please please please please please please please stop talking” (530). The girl’s attempts to end the conversation display the erosion of her mental state because she no longer knows what to make of the situation or how to think clearly to make the best decision. The man’s selfishness has led to the destruction of her emotional well-being he has pretty much made the decision for her and has beaten it into her, giving her no other option. 

Towards the end of the story, the girl becomes quite agitated with the man and threatens to cause a seen which establishes the destruction of her psychological state. When the man says “I don’t want you to” the girl makes it clear that she will create a scene by saying “I don’t care anything about it. I will scream” (530). At the beginning of the story the girl is much more calm and collected, but as the story progressed the man became a road block that stood in the way of her own personal thoughts. Her frustration by the end was through the roof because the man simply did not care what she had to say and only wanted what was best for him. Johnston believes that the man sees it as, he is the calm voice of reason, the rational man who must convince the emotional, irrational girl that “‘the best thing’” for him is “‘the best thing’” for her. In reality, he never gave her the chance to speak her mind and since she didn’t conform to his thoughts, he considered her to be irrational. He was in it for the best interest of himself which has caused her irrational actions and thoughts. She is no longer capable to decide the best option for herself.

Hills Like White Elephants takes place during a controversial time period of abortion. Abortion procedures were performed illegally throughout Catholic Spain and the United States suggesting that it wasn’t an “awfully simple procedure” that the American man made it out to be. The man was pro-abortion because he was selfish and didn’t want to take responsibility for his action. On the flip side, an abortion was against the girl’s beliefs which has brought them to their disagreement. He rendered her emotional health by his callousness and egotism. She knew for the time period of the late 1920s that abortion was largely looked down upon by society. Her morality and conscience has been torn to shreds by her attempts to conform to society’s ideals on abortion, but on the other hand she wants to make her relationship work. 
