Hills Like White Elephants

"Hills Like White Elephants" is a very interesting short story by the acclaimed writer Earnest Hemingway. It takes place in a bar near a train station in a town called Ebro. A couple, an American man and his female significant other, drink beers and attempt to discuss the woman undergoing some unknown change. Throughout the entire story, both characters speak indirectly of this event. The man believes it to be an "awfully simple operation" while the women expresses indifference to it, willing to undergo it as long as it makes him happy. This indifference seems to make the man uneasy, and he it seems like throughout the story, he is subliminally trying to talk her into it. Although she has already agreed to it, it is clear she is thinking mostly of the man and not at all about herself and what effect it may have on her. She says "I'll do it. Because I don't care about me". It is almost sad in a way, that the women is willing to put so much of herself to the side to please her mate. Alcohol may play a role in her sad and disinterested demeanor, as she and her partner continue to drink throughout the entire episode and at one point, she even says "That's all we do anyway, isn't it- look at things and try new drinks?" Her underlying attitude gives the sense that she is dissatisfied with her life. She seems to want more than just drinking and looking at things with her partner. She almost seems desperate for happiness and is willing to forgo her happiness in the short-run for the potential happiness the man is promising her in the long run. It is unclear what exactly the "operation" is; the immediate thoughts that come to mind are a literal operation like plastic surgery, or a figurative one like marriage, children, or a big move to another city. It is clear that there are issues with their relationship and the "operation" is something that will play a significant role in their relationship, though the debate is out on whether it will bring them closer together or drive them apart.

Kate Chopin- Story of an Hour

Kate Chopin’s “A Story of an Hour” details the female protagonist Louis Mallard’s grief over the death of her husband while also acknowledging the newfound freedom that came along with his death. Though she longed to have her husband back, his passing filled her with growth and wisdom that she could not turn her back on. Unfortunately, Mrs. Mallard did not experience the happy ending we all hoped for when the reemergence of her assumed-dead husband causes her to die of apparent shock. Ultimately, despite the new confidence and independence she found within herself, she still experienced her demise due to a man. Chopin’s work leaves readers with a melancholy aftertaste and but forces us to confront two conflicting emotions. She channels both strength and vulnerability. She is fearless in approaching the topics of sexuality, marriage, women’s rights and divorce in the context of feminism. The very issues Chopin tackled in her work over 100 years ago have a valid place in society today, marking her as a timeless writer.