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.