Hills Like White Elephants - Hemingway (1927)

[For Reb's English class]

I had heard the Hemingway's writing was lean but I was still surprised how spartan the story was. There is an intro paragraph and a concluding one and the rest is just dialogue. I think that this style is 'social realism' and it's what HP Lovecraft and CA Smith complain about as they were writing adjective-laden, other-worldly fantasies.

The theme is clearly a couple 'dancing' in a conversation about a topic that is never made explicit. I first thought it was whether they would have sex or elope but the single reference to 'the operation' makes it more likely the topic is an abortion.

The 'American' wants to do 'the rational thing' and wants the woman to agree that it is the right and rational thing, but her emotions cannot be soothed by rationality, nor the promise of a future where they can keep doing what they are already doing: carefree traveling and drinking. The guy is 'mansplaining' and using a mild but unstoppable torrent of soft weaselly words, she realizes that his type of shallow talk can never address the emotional side of the decision so she begs him to "please please please please please please please stop talking". Her final words, "There’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine," suggest she has found some degree of self-confidence.

Basically a tale of poor communication, the weight of reproduction, modern shallowness and alcoholism set in Spain. I suspect a whiff of autobiography and Catholic guilt in this tale - but getting into Hemingway's life is far beyond what I can do at the moment.

More:
http://genius.com/Ernest-hemingway-hills-like-white-elephants-annotated/