Hills like White Elephants

I read this story a long time ago and kept thinking while reading it again that the meaning was going to be revealed in the end. Which is definitely not the case. To me this means that the story itself conveys the intended meaning so well, that I remembered and was waiting for it to be spelled out for me. It is pretty obvious that the couple is discussing an abortion. By never affirming this, Hemingway leaves the story open for interpretation. It can be seen as a social commentary of the era or of gender roles or of relationships in general. The woman is presented as deeply unhappy, self-sacrificing and disillusioned. The man thinks little of her, putting himself first and pushing for her to get an abortion. It is clear that she doesn’t know what she really wants, because, as she asserts, she doesn’t care about herself and thus is not able to think of her own needs. She does however seem aware of this inability, and she seems to be trying to make up her own mind. She has hang ups about having an abortion and she doesn’t think that it will fix anything, that their relationship is beyond repair. Hemingway builds suspense and then leaves the reader hanging. This creates a sense of hopelessness and makes it seem like the characters situation will not or cannot evolve. Happiness should be self-evident, merely saying you are happy does not make it so, alternately it points to an unhappiness. Throughout the story the couple's discourse is like a strained and unsuccessful effort at becoming happier by denying that anything is wrong. To me, this story evokes a similar sentiment to the one Didion expresses in Goodbye to all that: disenchantment.