In “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, a man and a girl are having a conversation about a particular “operation.” With many context clues as support, it is obvious by the end of the story that the operation that they are referring to is an abortion. From beginning to end, the story takes place at the train station and the text doesn’t outright say that Jig, the girl, ends up having the abortion or not. With support, I argue that Jig chooses to have the abortion. A few main points lead to this conclusion: the way the man acts towards Jig about the abortion topic; the use of the word “fine”; and the use of symbolism and metaphors that support the fact that Jig has the abortion. 

The American man that accompanies Jig facilitates the majority of the conversation between the couple. He introduces the operation by saying, “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig. It’s not really an operation at all” (528). The man acts like it’s really not that big of a deal to get the operation. He degrades the seriousness of the issue and acts like it would be absurd to not go through with the operation. This is an insult towards Jig and if she had decided to not get the abortion, the man would have easily thought of Jig as weak. Jig really doesn’t respond much to the man’s thoughts about this operation. At this point in the story, Jig is not sure whether to get the abortion or not. The man tries to convince her that it would be out of her best interest to get the abortion: “I know you wouldn’t mind it, Jig. It’s just to let the air in” (528).

The man then changes his composure and tells Jig, “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” (529). The man has now become more compassionate towards Jig. Although he had expressed that he thinks the operation is not a big deal, the man follows up with this loving assurance towards Jig. When the man says “I’ll stay with you all the time,” it suggests that the couple will stay together as long as Jig gets the abortion. The man expresses that this unborn child is the only problem they have in their relationship: “That’s the only thing that bothers us. It’s the only thing that’s made us unhappy.” Once the couple gets rid of this problem, they will be able to live their happy lives without this impediment. 

One may think that the girl is too skeptical about the operation to proceed with the man’s wishes. This uncertain nature of Jig is what allows her to go back and forth, constantly wondering what would happen if she got the abortion versus if she had the child. Although she never comes to a conclusion, she does not feel as though her life would change with a baby.  She tries to convince the man that “we can have the whole world” but the man thinks “No, we can’t.  It isn’t ours anymore” (530).  The connection between the man and the woman is unstable, and their communication issues continue throughout the story.  She never wavers, however, with her desire to become a mother, even in the face of disappointment from her partner. At the end of the story, she “smiled at him” suggesting that she was done talking about the situation and wanted to continue her relationship with the man with no problems (531). She decides to side with the man to live a happy life which the man thinks can only be achieved without the child. 

The word “fine” appears multiple times throughout the story and serves as a clue that the ending of the story is representative of Jig getting the abortion. During the beginning of the man and Jig’s conversation, she asks the man what will happen after she gets the abortion. The man answers her with “we’ll be fine afterward. Just like we were before” (529). This suggests that after the abortion takes place, the couple will be just “fine.” This relates directly to a quote from the end of the book where the man asks “Do you feel better?” and Jig responds with “I feel fine. There’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine” (531). This last bit of dialogue the couple shared at the end of the story would be exactly what the man would ask after the operation was over. The man had told Jig that she would be “fine” after the operation, and surely enough she was just “fine.” The girl’s response to the question supports the fact that she willingly decided to get the abortion and that she felt fine afterwards.

Some may argue that “there’s nothing wrong with me” means that Jig doesn’t want to get the abortion because she doesn’t think the unborn child is a problem. One may think she is trying to convince herself that if she ignores the conversation with the man, she will not have to make the choice. I argue that Jig is trying to reassure herself that after the operation takes place she will have no regrets. At the end of the story, Hemingway describes Jig “sitting at the table” as she “smiled at him” (531). She is hoping that she did not make a mistake by choosing to terminate her pregnancy.

The ending of this story is symbolic of the hospital where Jig has her abortion. The setting is expressed when the story says, “they were all waiting reasonably for the train” (530-531). This represents the waiting room where the man is waiting for Jig. Another metaphor would be where the story says, “He went out through the bead curtain” (531). This bead curtain could very well represent the hospital curtain that the man went through to go visit Jig. The woman that is serving them beer represents the doctor that was in charge of Jig. She continuously checks on the couple, and this is just like when the doctor goes to update the family during or after an operation. 

Hemingway’s writing style leaves us wondering what the true outcome of the story is.  As discussed here, however, there is overwhelming support through symbolism and parallels that infers Jig goes through with the operation.  The man’s point of view in the situation keeps the girl wondering if their life really would be better if she got the abortion.  At times her indecisiveness causes her to question him, and makes her wonder if her relationship with him is worth the sacrifice.  But in the end, she chooses his happiness over her own.  