In Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”, the two main characters, the American man and Jig, are contemplating whether or not Jig should have an operation. Readers assume that operation spoken of in this short story is an abortion. “Hills Like White Elephants” was published in 1927. During this time period, Ernest Hemingway was cheating on his wife with Pauline Pieffer. Hilary K. Justice, after researching Hemingway’s biography, made the assumption that the abortion could be a metaphor for the fate of his love affair. I agree with Justice’s claim and I also argue that knowing this information could change the entire perspective readers have on “Hills Like White Elephants.” Throughout the short story, there are many times in which the word “operation” can be switched out and referred to as “ending the affair.” (Wyche 1)

The first instance in which the term “operation” is mentioned the man says, “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig. It’s not really an operation at all.” He then follows that statement by saying, “I know you wouldn’t mind it, Jig. It’s not really anything.” This is the first example in which knowing that Hemingway was having an affair while writing “Hills Like White Elephants” changes the perspective for the reader. Just as the man finds the abortion “simple” and “not really anything”, Hemingway could also find ending his love affair as “simple” and “not really anything.” (528)

As the conversation continues between the two, the American man says “We can have everything.” But the woman replies saying, “No, we can’t.” (529) Hemingway could be expressing that he wants to be with his lover, Pauline, but he is already married. If the woman aborts the baby, the man will stay with her but if she keeps the baby he will not feel the same way. If Hemingway ends his affair, which is similar to ending her pregnancy, then Hemingway’s marriage will remain intact. But if Hemingway chooses to keep his mistress, like Jig could decide to keep her baby, then his marriage will change drastically. In this exact conversation the American and Jig go back and forth on one subject:

“We can have the whole world.”

“No, we can’t.”

“We can go everywhere.”

“No, we can’t. It isn’t ours any more.”

“It’s ours”

“No, it isn’t. And once they take it away, you never get it back.”

In the same way that the American is arguing that they can have the whole world, the woman is saying that they cannot if she keeps the baby. This could also be perceived as Hemingway’s mistress telling them him that they can have the world, but he disagrees by saying that if he has to end the affair, they can’t have the world. And he also says that once they take it away, you never get it back, which could be referring to ending the affair. If they end their relationship, they will more than likely never regain what they once had together. (530)

The two continue to discuss the decision they should make. The man says, “You’ve got to realize, that I don’t want you to do it if you don’t want to. I’m perfectly willing to go through with it if it means anything to you.” Readers would assume that the American man is telling Jig that she should keep the baby if she wants to and he will stand by her side through it. Once again, knowing about Hemingway’s affair changes the perspective of the conversation. Hemingway could be saying that he will continue the affair with Pauline if she believes that their relationship means something. He will end his marriage if the “abortion” (the ending of his affair) does not occur. (530)

While there are many times that the word operation can be replaced with the ending of Hemingway’s affair, there are also times in which the actions between the two characters symbolizes signs of adultery in Hemingway’s own life. A huge sign of infidelity is the language barrier between the two. From language to language most words will translate, but there are some words that do not. While it may just seem coincidental that the two characters do not know all the same languages, knowing about Hemingway’s personal life can change coincidence into a huge flashing sign pointing out the problems occurring in his own life. The American man, who knows another language, could have trouble explaining certain words or phrases to Jig because some of them could not translate. Just like Hemingway could have trouble explaining to his wife that he is having an affair. While Hemingway and his wife do not have a legitimate language barrier, struggling on finding the words to say to your significant other when explaining an event can be considered a time when language between them could be mistranslated.

Jig makes the comment, “I wanted to try a new drink. That’s all we do isn’t it—look at things and try new drinks?” (528) Instead of doing more basic things together like paying bills or deciding what to cook for dinner, the two only travel and drink. The description of the events they do together leads readers to believe that Jig and the American man have a less serious or stable relationship. This could symbolize the relationship that Hemingway has with his mistress, Pauline Pieffer. To add to this argument, Hemingway says, “He did not say anything about but looked at the bags against the wall of the station. There were labels on them from all the hotels where they had spent nights.” The key part of that past sentence is “from all the hotels where they had spent night.” (530) Married couple’s usual own a home, apartment, condo, etc. in which they live together. The fact that the couple have stayed in hotels on numerous occasions shows the reader that Hemingway and his lover might not have a home together because when they spend time together they must escape and keep it a secret. 

At the end of “Hills Like White Elephants,” the American man says, “I’d better take the bags over to the other side of the station.” Then Hemingway goes to say, “He picked up the two heavy bags and carried them around the station to the other tracks. He looked up the tracks but could not see the train. Coming back, he walked through the barroom, where people waiting for the train were drinking. He drank an Anis at the bar and looked at the people.” The American man told the woman he was only going to move the bags to the other side, while he did do that, he also stopped by the bar and grabbed a drink. While telling a small lie seems to be a rather minor offense, there may be much more volume behind this tiny fib. Could telling small lies be one of the beginning factors that led Ernest Hemingway to an affair? Could the affair already be occurring and he is not only cheating on his wife, but also lying to her? (530)

Knowing that Ernest Hemingway was having an affair with Pauline Pieffer while writing “Hills Like White Elephants” truly changes the perspective for the reader. Throughout the story many examples from the text bring an awareness to this idea. While some of the clues or hints are more subtle, others are extremely obvious and change the perspective of the story entirely. Whether it be seeing the “operation” as the fate of the affair or looking to find instances that represent infidelity, readers can most likely see some affiliation with the story line behind “Hills Like White Elephants” and the actual life of Ernest Hemingway in 1927. I agree fully that the abortion in “Hills Like White Elephants” represents the affair Ernest Hemingway was having. 
