Everything tastes of licorice
Hemingway’s writings doesn’t say much but still manages to communicate a lot
Hills like white elphants (1927) is a short story consists of short dialogue between an American man and a girl waiting for the train to Madrid at a Spanish train station. The conversation is central to the operation, likely abortion, that Jig has to go through.
The story is mostly obscure, relying on symbolism and Hemingway's minimalist style, which opens it to multiple interpretations. And because of it's minimalistic style, each dialogue need to be decipher -- of course, it could easily lead to understanding and misunderstanding in many ways.
"What should we drink?" the girl asked. She had taken off her hat and put it on the table.A lot goes around drinks -- here, likely to their hedonistic life together.
'It taste like liquorice,' the girl said and put the glass down.
'That's the way with everything.'
'Yes,' said the girl. 'Everything tastes of liquorice. Especially all the thing you've waited so long for, like absinthe.'
'Oh, cut it out.'
Licorice, often a divisive flavor, means something bittersweet -- something that can be pleasant or unpleasant depending on how you feel about it. When Jig says, 'everything tastes of licorice,' she's suggesting that experiences, particularly ones that are highly ancipated, come with a mix of excitement and disappointment -- reflecting a sense of disillusionment. The reference to absinthe adds more to symbolisms. Absinthe was a famous, almost mythical drink associated with creativity, pleasure, and indulgence -- but also with toxicity, hallucination, and destructions. So on the one side their relationship is alluring yet hard to fully embrace. Although, the character doesn't reveal what's goes in the back, the underlying tension in their conversation is apparent. Jig is expressing a deeper dissatisfaction, 'That's all we do, isn't it - look at things and try new drinks?', a weariness with how things -- especially big, emotional decisions or longings -- are never as purely good as one hopes.
The emotional tension between the two is pervasive, ties to rather indifferent behavior from the man. To me, it feels like Jig is quietly testing the waters -- seeing if he'll meet her halfway emotionally. When he doesn't, 'Should we have another drink?' it's another subtle moment of heartbreak, 'All right.'
'It's really an awfully simple operation, Jig,' the main said. 'It's note 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.'
The girl did not say anything.
'I'll go with you and I'll stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it's all perfectly natural.'
The man is definitely trying to downplay the situation as if it's just another casual decision, the child to him is white elephant -- something unwanted to rid of, 'That's the only thing that bothers us. It's the only thing that's made us unhappy.' It's the external thing that's interrupting their lives, causing tension, and preventing them from continuing with their carefree lifestyle. The pregnancy represents a disruption to their life and relationship. It forces them to confront their future - together or apart - and it introduces a new level of responsibility and complexity that neight of them is prepared for.
'And you think then we'll be all right and be happy.'
'I know we will. You don't have to be afraid. I've known lots of people that have done it.'
'So have I,' said the girl, 'And afterwards they were all so happy.'
'Well,' the main said, 'if you don't want to you don't have to. I wouldn't have you do it if you didn't want to. But I know it's perfectly simple.'
'And you really want to?'
'I think it's the best thing to do. But I don't want you do it if you don't really want to.'
'And if I do it you'll be happy and things will be like they were and you'll love me?'
'I love you now. You know I love you.'
Jig on the other hand goes through a deep internal conflict. She's is skeptical whether doing this will truly restore their relationship, and afraid of the emtional aftermath: Will it change their relationship forever? Will she be happy or feel empty? She's not necessarily seeking freedom in the same way as the man -- she's more concerned with how the choice might alter their relationship or her emtional state. Hemingway's sparse dialogue mirrors Jig’s emotional turmoil, leaving the reader to interpret what’s left unsaid.
'If I do it you won't ever worry?'Therefore, the girl's decision for abortion (if she does), likely dominated by the man, yet throughout the dialogue, she continues to look for reassurance, ' If I do it, then it will be nice again?' When the girl asks, 'Doesn't it mean anything to you? We could get along.' she likely open to the idea of child if he is too, but he continues to brush off her attempts, 'I know it's perfectly simple,'.
'I won’t worry about that because it’s perfectly simple.'
'Then I'll do it. Because I don't care about me.'
The woman came out through the curtains with two glasses of beer and put them down on the damp felt pads. "The train comes in five minutes," she said.The girl's bright smile at the woman and her polite interaction stand out because it's such a stark contrast to the heavy emotional weight of her conversation with the man. Some argue that it's because she made a decision of not having the abortion which is still questionable because it ends with, 'There's nothing wrong with me. I feel fine.' For me, she's just trying to project normalcy outwardly, but still grappling with the conflict. The man't act of taking the bags to the other side could just be a distraction from the situation, while he takes a detour to the bar and drinks an Anis. It's a bittersweet moment of resignation for both of them, while they reach a temporary truce.
"What did she say?" asked the girl.
"That the train is coming in five minutes." The girl smiled brightly at the woman, to thank her.
"I'd better take the bags over to the other side of the station," the man said. She smiled at him.
"All right. Then come back and we'll finish the beer." 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. They were all waiting reasonably for the train. He went out through the bead curtain. She was sitting at the table and smiled at him.
"Do you feel better?" he asked.
"I feel fine," she said. "There's nothing wrong with me. I feel fine."
Ultimately, the story goes into the themes like personal autonomy, emotional disconnect,and the unspoken power dynamics in intimate relationship. It explores a life-altering decision -- an abortion-- but Hemingway never mentions the word directly, relying on subtext to carry the weight of the narrative. The girl represents uncertainty and vulnerability but also shows flashes of independence as she questions the man's intentions and motives. Meanwhile, the man symbolizes a passive-aggressive push for control, cloaking his desires in feigned support and open-ended offers. Together, they epitomize the complexities of love -- how it can simultaneously bind people together and pull them apart when priorities and desires clash. What's incredible about Hemingway's writing here is how much he doesn't say but still manages to communicate. Through what he doesn't say, Hemingway draws attention to the tension between control and vulnerability, love and indifference, allowing readers to fill the silence with their own interpretations of the characters' fates.