Feminist Interpretation of Hemingway’s Story

Portfolio Popovics Anamaria, An II, Romn?-Englez?L121A feminist interpretation of Hemingways Hills equal White Elephants Hemingways works stool largely covered the subject of feminism, and his short bill Hills like albumen elephants perfectly portrays a wo composition who breaks the norms of a society dominated by men and masculinity. As we every know, feminism is a social movement , an ideology which focuses on achieving rights for women . Women should be equal to men in each and every way.In Hemingways short story we have two important characters The Ameri groundwork and The young woman. It should be noted that we roll in the hay acknowledge only from the nicknames the author gives us that The American seems to be superior from a plain old Girl .Is the girl American too ? Is she of another nationality? We bent told this , but this makes us oddment just how important women were in the twentieth century , how much they depended on men , how they didnt matter in society , ho w their obtainings or opinions were pretty much non existent. This simple question gives a major clue on who is superior and who is subordinate in the couples family. Even from the beginning , when the Girl asks her partner about what they should drink , we can pretty much significantise just how much she cares for her confreres opinions and thoughts. It may seem just as a simple question , but if we analyze the whole text we surely get to the conclusion that the Girl rattling has surpressed feelings, frustrations , her own thoughts only get voice at the end of the short story , when she ultimately sees just how her relationship really is.The girl is clearly submissive to her dominating boyfriend, and she wants to do the things that enthral him. She is inferior in this case as she doesnt know the Spanish language, she cant order by herself, she depends on her boyfriend. I hypothesize that there are many famales who depend on their partner, but that it is much better to be an main(a) woman. Women shouldnt feel inferior to men, they should consider themselves as mens equals. The woman is clearly used to pleasing her boyfriend and doing whatever he wants.Although Hills Like White Elephants is primarily a conversation between the American man and his young lady, neither of the speakers truly communicates with the other, highlighting the rift between the two. Both chat, but neither listens or understands the others pip of view. Frustrated and placating, the American man will say almost anything to convince his girlfriend to have the operation, which, although neer menti peerlessd by name, is understood to be an abortion.(Source SparkNotes Editors. SparkNote on Hills Like White Elephants. SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2007. Web. 19 May 2017.)The American mans girlfriend is a girl who doesnt speak up when talking about the abortion. It is clear that she doesnt want to have it, and tear down though she doesnt argue with her boyfriend their conversa tion is really tensionate. She is the typical american girl in the 20th century, a girl that would to anything for the man she loves, not caring about the consequences. I would now like to talk about Jigs (the nickname the Girl is given by her boyfriend, we dont know her actual name) feminist journey thourought the really short story. At the beginning , she really seems to be willing to do anything she can to save her relationship , even have an operation , an abortion .I truly believe she wakes up at one point in the conversation and realises there is nothing to save , that an abortion cant fix whats already change in the relationship . The American is clearly oblivious to his girlfriends or, better said, the mother of his unborn childs needs and sure wishes, and he really pressures her to do something that mainly affects her, she should be the one taking the decision about having a child or not , not anyone else. One summon of the text regarding the feiminist awakening in the G irls spirit is particularly important and worth mentioning Then Ill do it, I dont care about me.(Source Hills like washrag elephants, by Ernest Hemingway from Charters, Ann, Ed. The Story and its Writer An Introduction to Short Fiction. 6th Ed. Boston Bedford/St. Martins, 2003).This quote is especially pertinent from a feminist point of view. Even though, at first, I actually thought that the woman wants to please her boyfriend and do as he wants her to do, I judge that this is the moment she actually realises that everything shes done so far was only for him, she was careless when it came to her needs, her wishes and she is now actually waking up. She seems to realise just how much her prevailing boyfriend is asking of her and she seems to have had enough.If we think about reporting this quote to real life we may say that women, even today, care about their partners feeling more than they care about their own person. In todays relationships men try to dominate women and try to have the upper hand, and women are unfortunately are unremarkably inferior to their partner and get to a point where they feel helpless, with low self-esteem and un intellectual. Another quote that gives a glimpse of the Girls realization that she does in fact want to bind the baby and doesnt want to have any operation at all is But if I do it, then it will be nice again if I say things are like unclouded elephants, and youll like it? (Source Hills like white elephants, by Ernest Hemingway from Charters, Ann, Ed. The Story and its Writer An Introduction to Short Fiction. 6th Ed. Boston Bedford/St. Martins, 2003)By this point, midway through and through the story, the girl has already retracted her previous comment that the surrounding hills look like white elephants, hinting that she wants to keep the baby instead of having an abortion. The man had been upset at this, feigning indifference but pushing for the abortion because he doesnt want the child. Still hoping to save th eir broken relationship, the girl asks her boyfriend whether things between them will refurbishment to the way they used to be if she goes through with the abortion. Her indecision and desire to placate the man demonstrate her dependence on him. At the same time, however, the mere fact that she asks the question may imply that she believes that nothing can save their relationship. (Source SparkNotes Editors. SparkNote on Hills Like White Elephants. SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2007. Web. 19 May 2017)This quote unveils, once again, Jigs awakening. She subtly hints at the fact that she doesnt want to have the operation, but wants the relationship between her and the American to be a happy and successfull one, as it once was. She asks this question knowing that things may never be as they once were, she slow realizes that the relationship has reached its finish, and that no operation can fix what made the couple grow apart. I feel like the Girls feelings are finally surfacing, an d that the American is at this point as clueless as he can be. The not so long conversation between the two is a real play changer for the relationship. The two arent arguing or shouting, but the dialogue is really tensionate, it truly shows that there are a lot of things on the deeper level.The Girl is no longer just a plain girl, she has a voice, she has feelings and she is not afraid to speak up anymore, even though the one she is talking to doesnt understand much at all. In the end, I am completely sure that she is coming out of her submissive girfriend scale of measurement and that she realizes she can be an independent woman, taking care of a child without the help of its father. Hemingway doesnt actually tells us if the woman decides to have the abortion or not, but from all the subltle hints in the Girls dialogue I think it is safe to assume that she is keeping the baby and getting out of the toxic relationship with her overly dominant boyfriend. To conclude my essay, I wo uld like to state the fact that this short story is truly a story of a woman who has her feminist awakening, a woman who gets out of the cage shes been kept in by her dominant partner, a woman who finally speaks up her mind. Hemingway ingeniously brings to life an independent, strong woman, and a real life situation common to our days.