Summary
“Hills Like White Elephants,” written in 1927, is told largely through dialogue. The story opens with a description of the setting, in rural Spain. We see a railway station between two lines of rails. It is hot, and there is no shade or trees.

The two central characters, an American man and a girl (whose nationality is not disclosed), sit at a table waiting for a train to Madrid. As they sit drinking beer, the girl notes distant white hills against the warm, dry country, and comments that they look like White Elephants. The man’s response and her reaction to it hint at tension between the pair.

This tension continues to simmer trough various attempts at small talk and the ordering of more drinks. Eventually, on the third drink, the man raises the subject of an operation he is encouraging the girl to have. It becomes apparent that the operation is an abortion. The man assures the woman that it is natural and that he will be there to support her if she goes ahead with it. Afterwards, he tells her, they will go on as before.

The girl seems unsure about having the abortion. When the American says he’s known lots of people who’ve done it, she says she has too, and adds with a hint of sarcasm that they were “so happy” afterwards.

When the man tells her she doesn’t have to do it if she doesn’t want to, she finally becomes serious, knowing the issue needs to be discussed. She questions whether things will be like they were before, and whether the man will still love her. He tries to reassure her, saying things will be better between them when he doesn’t have to worry about their current situation. The girl seems persuaded, saying she will do it to make things “fine” and because she doesn’t care about herself.

Leaving the table, the girl wanders to the edge of the station and looks at the scenery. In contrast to the scenery already noted, on the other side of the tracks she sees fields and trees, even a river. Her mood seems to change when she returns to the table. The landscape has, to her, mirrored their choice—on one side barren aridity, on the other, fertile life. Their relationship has been changed by his attempts to manipulate her and they will never “get it back.” His actions have made their future barren.

When the man tries to placate her, sensing her mood shift, she tells him to stop talking. She indicates that it is too late for him to make things better. He leaves her to get their bags ready for the train. He notes the other people waiting reasonably for their train—implying that he sees the girl as unreasonable. The story ends after he goes back, with the girl reassuring him that she feels “fine.”

Analysis
While the focus appears to be the decision to have the abortion, the story is constructed to cleverly explore the relationship between the man and the woman. With little input from the narrator, the reader needs to interpret the feelings of the characters from what they say and, importantly, from what they don’t say.

The man’s irritability and perception of the woman as being unreasonable contradict his pretense that she has a choice. He patronizes her and appears to be talking to her as a child rather than a partner. Despite her claims that she doesn’t care about herself, the girl recognizes this crisis has changed their relationship. Whether she has the abortion or not is not her greatest concern—the man’s attitude and the pressure he is applying have shown her a side of his personality she has possibly not seen before, and changed their relationship irrevocably.

The setting of the story is also very important. The contrast between the landscape on either side of the station parallels the choice of the characters—life and fertility on one side of the track and barrenness and aridity on the other. Importantly, at the end of the story, the characters catch the train on the barren side.