In this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Tim McIntosh and Emily Maeda explore Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants,” a story in which the most important subject is never named. At a Spanish train station, an American man and a young woman called Jig wait for a train to Madrid while circling around a “simple operation” that will determine the future of their relationship. Tim and Emily discuss Hemingway’s iceberg theory, the story’s compressed setting and dialogue, the unequal pressure between the couple, and the way Jig sees possibility where the man sees a threat to freedom. They close with Tim’s Hot Take and a discussion of what the story reveals about the difficult passage from adolescence into adulthood.

Episode Outline

• “Hills Like White Elephants” as a difficult bridge from adolescence into adulthood
• Why the story is best encountered before the reader knows what the couple is discussing
• Hemingway in Paris in 1927: rising fame, The Sun Also Rises, Hadley Richardson, and Pauline Pfeiffer
• A radically compressed story: one train station, two central characters, and almost nothing but dialogue
• The unnamed pregnancy and abortion and Hemingway’s iceberg theory of omission
• Jig, “the girl,” and “the American”: naming, age, and the unequal pressure within the conversation
• The white elephant image, the surrounding landscape, and Jig’s attentiveness to the world
• The train station as a liminal setting and the approaching train to Madrid as a deadline for decision
• The couple’s sticker covered suitcases and a life of travel, mobility, and limited responsibility
• The child as possibility for Jig and as a threat to freedom for the man
• Hemingway’s biography, the temptation to read the story autobiographically, and the likely future of the relationship

Key Topics & Takeaways

• The Iceberg Theory and the Unspoken Center: The story never uses the words “baby,” “pregnant,” or “abortion.” Hemingway leaves the decisive reality beneath the surface, forcing the reader to infer it from pressure, repetition, gesture, and what the characters avoid saying.
• Power and Persuasion: The conversation is not simply a balanced exchange between two people weighing options. The man repeatedly reassures, minimizes, and pushes, while Jig keeps asking whether doing what he wants will restore the relationship they once had. The imbalance becomes part of the story’s emotional force.
• Liminal Space and a Closing Deadline: The train station holds the couple between places and between possible futures. Madrid is approaching with the train, so a story in which almost nothing physically happens nevertheless carries the pressure of an imminent decision.
• Freedom, Responsibility, and Adulthood: The couple’s luggage records a mobile life of travel and relative freedom. The pregnancy introduces a responsibility that cannot be treated as another destination, and the episode uses that conflict to mark a harsh transition from youthful freedom toward adulthood.
• Perception and Possibility: Jig notices hills, landscape, and possible futures; the man narrows his attention to one desired outcome. Their different ways of seeing expose how far apart they already are and why returning to the relationship “as it was” may no longer be possible.

Questions & Discussion

• Why does Hemingway refuse to name the procedure directly?
  Consider what the omission requires from the reader and how the story would change if the central subject were stated plainly.
• How does the train station shape the drama?
  Discuss the importance of waiting, transit, limited time, and the knowledge that the train to Madrid is carrying the couple toward a decision.
• How much freedom does Jig actually have in the conversation?
  Look closely at the man’s reassurances, repetitions, and promises. When does persuasion become pressure, and how does the story communicate that distinction without explaining it?
• What do you think happens after the story ends?
  Consider whether the couple proceeds with the operation, whether the relationship survives, and whether the story gives enough evidence to favor one future or deliberately leaves the choice unresolved.

Suggested Reading & Resources

• Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway
• The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
• Ernest Hemingway: A Biography by Mary V. Dearborn
• Hemingway: The Paris Years by Michael S. Reynolds
• Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates
• Short stories by Flannery O’Connor
• The Christopher Perrin Show
• My Name is Søren Kierkegaard by Tim McIntosh
• Devotchka
• Substack 
• Instagram