In “Hills Like White Elephants, Hemingway tells a story about a couple who come upon a vital problem. Throughout the story there is a great deal of argument and disagreement between the man and women over an operation that the man insists the women sustain. The woman is very passive about what the man would like of her, and it seems like he has the dominance in this decision. The disagreement that the man and women are having is whether the women should get an abortion. Due to the abortion laws, the way in which people viewed the idea of abortion, and gender roles at the time the problem in the story is greatly intensified.

The disagreement that occurs in the story is never directly stated, but it is clear to the audience that abortion is the issue. The man and woman clearly do not agree and it is very noticeable that there is a big gap between their opinions and beliefs. This relates right back to the generalized use of language in the story. Conversations between the man and women and the way in which they interact with each other show the lack of communication and connection that the two have. When the discussion of abortion comes up in the story, it is referred to as an operation, and the outcomes of it are never talked about. This comes to show that the man is trying to convince her that everything will be perfectly normal when it is completed, and that getting an abortion is not a complex thing to have done. While the man and woman interact about the abortion, a big part of the conversation revolves around the drinks that they are having that night. In spite of the problem taking place, both the man and woman seem done with the conversation for now and want to move on. At one point the woman is looking around at the hills that surround her and says, “they look like white elephants (527). After researching white elephants, Alex Link of York University states that white elephants are “a metaphor for an expensive and oppressive property.” In the story, the white elephant symbolizes the weight of caring for a child. At first, one could argue that the white elephant in the story is affiliated with the woman’s stomach and pregnancy, but looking more deeply into it there could be a different symbol of the elephant. The weight of having the child is a symbol of the white elephant, and the weight of having a child could be a sign of the little interaction between the couple. It could also symbolize the issues that the man and woman come across in the story. When the woman states that the hills look like white elephants, the man emphasizes and points out the struggles related to their relationship by stating, “I have never seen one” (527). Throughout the story, the author uses the word “it” in an odd way. Alex Link of York University states, “the fact that it is never named suggest both the intimacy of the couple’s relationship and the unspeakability of that information.” Once again, the little interaction between the man and woman adds to the weight of having a child. They do not do a good job of communicating with one another, and never talk about the problems that they face. Over the course of the story, they just avoid the important problems and let them pass right over. Link says that a white elephant represents oppressive responsibility and costly belongings. Link is right in his statement that the responsibility that a white elephant represents in the story is the weight of having a child, and that the responsibility directly relates to the lack of connection between the couple. 

The issues in the story between the man and the woman are also enhanced by the abortion laws of the time and the way in which the public perceived abortion. According to research about abortion during this time, abortion was often seen as a cultural issue. Throughout the world, abortion is thought to be wrong and seen as bad towards the human character. The abortion laws greatly affect the relationship of the couple in a negative manner. The woman refuses to get the operation that the man insists of her, and that could directly be affected because of the negative perception of the public on abortions. If she were to receive an abortion the public could easily judge her and her values therefore leaving her with a horrible reputation. The man on the other hand belives that abortion is not wrong at all and he make his side clear by saying, “they just let the air in and then it’s all perfectly natural” (529). This quote proves that the man does not believe in the negative morals about getting an abortion. He makes it seem as if receiving an abortion is a normal thing and that it will have no impact on woman’s feeling at all. All he wants is the woman to listen to him and understand that getting and abortion is simple. The couples opposite views of the effects of getting an abortion proceed to lead to the problems that they have. Research from Merike Blofield says that the Catholic church defines abortion as a homicide and that it was prohibited by the Catholics in 1869. This is vital to the story because the story’s setting is at a train station in Spain, and Spain is primarily a Catholic country. During the time of the story, abortion was against the laws , yet nowhere in the story is this ever explicitly stated. The man and the woman never discuss this in their conversations. The man’s lack of recognition about the laws of abortion in Spain at the time, result in his uneducated statements toward the woman about it. Since he does not acknowledge the perception and laws of abortion at the time, the issues that could come out of receiving an abortion are unnoticed. The lack of care the man has about the seriousness of an abortion, shows to the audience his feelings toward his relationship with the woman. He makes it seem as if it is effortless to receive an abortion and solve the problem pf having a baby. His care free attitude also represents his association with the woman, and how their unhealthy relationship can simply be solved. The man is stubborn in a way, as he fails to look at the bigger picture of things, and makes everything seem so little. According the Blofield, a health policy in Spain dramatically reduced the abortion rate (13). This shows that there must have been a connection between health problems and abortions at the time. The man obviously does not see the risks in having this operation performed. The man and woman could have been uneducated about the abortion laws in Spain, and they could have also not been caught up about the health problems that could appear from this. The man seemed serious about this operation, so he should have been aware about all of the outcomes of abortion, both good and bad. The man had one goal which was to get rid of the baby, and due to the lack of communication with the woman and knowledge of receiving an abortion comes to show that he just did not care for the woman. 

No matter what the outcome was in the story, the man just made it seem as if he was emotionless. As Nilofer Hashmi stated, “regardless of what actually transpires, the existing relationship between the man and woman will deteriorate.” This statement reveals the self -centeredness of the man and how what he wants should be how it is. The woman’s opinion means nothing to him. The man turns down the idea of having a child and continually pushes the idea of an abortion to the woman in spite of the public perception. According to Hashami, constant bickering back and forth and never coming to a solution about the abortion, will sooner or later end their relationship. He explains how the lack of interaction between the two shows the lack of love that they have towards each other. He also claims that the topic of an abortion itself is enough to cut the ties that they had with one another. In the story the man tells the woman that they will be fine afterward just like they were before. The relationship between the couple seems to already have no attachment, so there is no way that it is possible to keep it going if the woman were to receive an abortion. The man is almost using the idea of getting an abortion as an escape route in this relationship. 

The conflicts that arise in the story between the couple are intensified by the cultural context in which the story took place. They are in Spain during a period in which abortion was against the laws, and was just viewed negatively by the people. The cultural aspect of the story lead to the greater conflicts between the man and woman. The man’s care free attitude of abortion and the way he acted in the relationship, proved to lead to the problems faced between him and his partner. This concludes how the white elephant in the story symbolizes the weight of having a baby, and how that will end their relationship no matter what because it is already too weak.
