(Cross-posted at A Curious Singularity.)

If anything, reading Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” has reminded me of why, at first glance, I often dislike his fiction: I fail to put his words in context. To whit:

“It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig,” the man said. “It’s not really an operation at all.”

The girl looked at the ground the table legs rested on.

“I know you wouldn’t mind it, Jig. It’s really not anything. It’s just to let the air in.”

Seems pretty straightforward, right?

Not quite. As I read the story, I kept imagining Jig and her lover as being a Mr. and Mrs. Smith-type of couple, running around Europe and executing military or spy operations during one of the two world wars. But Stefanie’s post on the story clarified things: Mr. and Mrs. Smith this couple is not. The “operation” is actually referring to Jig’s pending abortion.

Reading Hemingway often requires a bit more thought. He’s from the “show, don’t tell” school of authors and it’s easy to overlook the subtle qualities in his writing. His prose is simple, but one has to read carefully to grasp all the implications. Where most authors would tell us that Jig doesn’t want to have the abortion, that she was pressured into going along with it, Hemingway utilizes movements, such as Jig looking at the ground, and characterization to tell us what’s really going on. Her lover’s patronizing statements imply that, while he says Jig has a choice in the matter, there’s no arguing with him. The man is probably married and, given his constant reassurances that things will remain the same between them, it’s clear that he’s lost interest in their relationship; he’s simply telling her what she wants to hear so she’ll do what he wants. It’s sad, really, but isn’t that just human nature?