Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants” takes place outside of Madrid, Spain in the year, 1927. The main characters discuss the idea of an abortion outside a train station headed to Madrid. The setting of the story means a lot, as “…the Spanish sexual reform movement reached its height in the 1920s and the 1930s” (Cleminson 111). “In Madrid during that time, several social movements converged to produce agitation in favor of permitting divorce. Groups promoting feminism, prostitution reform, sex education, mental health, and eugenics all had interests in this area” (Glick np). The Spanish sexual reform movement in conversation with “Hills Like White Elephants” further pushes the idea of the couple getting the abortion at the end of the story. Jig, the female undergoing the procedure is not of Spanish descent and solely relies on the help of the American male, who appears to be more educated than Jig, as he speaks Spanish. The couple travel immensely and the male brings Jig to Madrid to complete the operation with the idea of the sexual reform movement in mind. Hemingway sets the stage in Madrid, to have the sexual reform movement undermine the ideologies of the Catholic Church.

The conversation between the couple shows us that other people in the story have exploited the movement and undergone an abortion. “You don’t have to be afraid. I’ve known lots of people that have done it…” (Hemingway 529). Hemingway decides to have the couple talk about the abortion indirectly, in fear of anyone overhearing the couple and taking legal action, as Spain is under the Catholic Church and it is unlawful to proceed with an abortion in that country. “Countries where abortion is illegal tend to have high rates of clandestine abortions that constitute a costly public health problem for states in terms of high levels of maternal mortality and hospitalizations for women” (Blofield 2). The Spanish sexual reform is fighting for the health and safety of women. The Catholic church outlawing abortion has caused more problems to the safety of their women and has resulted in costing the countries a lot more money than expected. The reforms are trying to educate the Spanish people on the dangers of sex, while the Roman Catholic church continues to ignore its people and cost the countries substantial amounts of money. The sexual reform movement is pleading with the church to restore women’s rights and make abortions legal. The movement is asking for better tools and resources, such as sex education classes so the churches could spend less money on programs that promote the idea of abstinence or at least, teaches the citizens about sex rather than paying the costs of the clandestine abortions placing their females into hospitals, driving the workforce below average numbers and hindering economic growth. Hemingway uses this story as a political message sent to the church of Spain to tease the fact abortions are happening under the nose of the Catholic church and the church has no way to mandate their laws and it is damaging the growth of their countries. 

Spanish anarchists saw the WLSR (World League of Sexual Reform), as a very futile committee that had no power of inflicting any change on to the church and decided to not join until the late 1930s (Cleminson 112). The Spanish sexual reform movements acted without the help of the WSLR, in hope of propelling the issue to the forefront of the church and it inevitably resolved many issues before the WLSR could aid in any sexual reform movement. “The WLSR was essentially a progressive liberal organization devoted to implementing a number of proposals, some far-reaching for the time, to alter the contours of lived sexual experience and morality” (Cleminson 112). The WLSR was not a realistic organization at the time and only follow suit to what the Spanish anarchists initially thought about the organization. Even though the Spanish anarchists led the sexual reform movements without the WSLR, the anarchists knew the WLSR would need to intervene and lay the groundwork for the future of the equality of sexual rights for both males and females. 

“The sexual reform movement in Spain before the Spanish civil war was the product of a loose coalition of physicians and lawyers influenced by Freudian psychology. These individuals shared concerns about gender inequality and sexual dysfunction, which they viewed as obsolete features of traditional Spanish society. Because the movement began under the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera (1923-30), it became an arena for political expression that, under conditions of democracy, might well have sought other outlets” (Glick np). The dictatorship surrounding Spain during the setting of “Hills Like White Elephants” further emphasizes the ideas of the church and their stance on abortion. The movement leading up to the Spanish civil war was due to the lack of compliance Primo de Rivera was showing to his people and their wishes. The movement in Spain was a fight for gender equality and the dictator of Spain refused to change the historic Spanish values. Hemingway chose the scene of Madrid in 1927 to show the turmoil between the people and their government through the relationship of Jig and the American male. He cleverly used an issue that Spain was already dealing with to draw the connections to the Spanish sexual reform movement and the underlying issues in “Hills Like White Elephants”. Hemingway uses many discrete references in the conversation of the couple to show just how powerful the American male is in the relationship. Jig needs the male to survive as she can’t speak the language and must follow his orders to get the abortion, just as the Spanish people living under Primo de Rivera rule need him, to survive. Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship had no sympathy for any ideology outside that of the Roman Catholic church, leading many Spanish civilians to undermine the church, just as Jig and the American male did.  

The Spanish sexual reform movement eventually led to many changes in Spanish society, as most of the changes happened after the Spanish civil war and democracy was put in place for the government. “Hills Like White Elephants” needed the sexual reform movement to, at least in the minds of the characters, justify their actions and go along with the abortion. The movement proved why government officials needed to restore gender equality and throw out the archaic laws of the old Spanish society. It tarnished the church not just economically, but morally as well. Abortion laws were seen, as just recommended behavior at the time and no one followed suit to the rules of the church under the dictatorship. Spain was in much conflict at the time and proves why it was the best place for Hemingway’s story to unravel. The destructive treatment of authoritative sexuality in Spain at the time of the 1920s, only further proves the relationship between Jig and the male. “As authoritative sexuality develops over the centuries, projection and scapegoating will be its dominant psychological tendencies” (Mitchell 6). The American male held all power in the relationship and ultimately made the decision for Jig to get the abortion. The Spanish sexual reform movement proves why the American male was able to do what he did in the story. 
