Hemingway’s
Clever Usage of Misogyny
When
reading literature it is often a good idea to clear your head, keep an open
mind and
read without expectation or prejudice. This is especially true of some authors like
Ernst
Hemingway. A
man that wrote with so many symbolic references and hidden meanings it is
virtually impossible to take his work at face value. It is important to note that, when reading his
work, we don’t overlook his masterful ability to
manipulate the reader and almost control the
emotional response to the text. After reading his very short story titled “Hills
Like White
Elephants” I was admittedly puzzled. I couldn’t
identify a plot or recognize the theme. At first I
couldn’t see its subtle implications and symbolisms
made by the author but after rereading it
several times I did and then found it to be a perfect
example of Hemingway’s mastery of his
craft. Many
reviews have been written about this story with some suggesting that it is just
another example or expression of Hemingway’s
misogynistic view. However, it’s my
opinion
and the thesis of this paper that his inclusion of,
what many consider, misogynistic behavior of
the male character, identified only as “the American”
(Hemingway789) in the story, was
intentional and used solely to manipulate the reader
into identifying more with Jig, the female
character, and/or her plight. And that is what
Hemingway was trying to accomplish and not
necessarily to represent or express his own
views. Regardless of his own personal,
almost
legendary, struggles with women.
First,
let’s get a clear definition misogyny.
According to Webster’s Dictionary,
misogyny is the “hatred of women.” (Merriam-Webster,
Web). That definition would suggest
either a male view point or perspective would be
presented in the story and that the female would
be more submissive.
However the story isn’t presented this way and according to Nina Baym
it’s quite the opposite when she wrote that the story
“…Hills Like White Elephants” present a
woman’s point of view and attribute her plight -…” (p.112-120). I tend to agree Baym in that
the story is more aligned with a woman’s point of view
than a man’s. Adding only that
Hemingway enforces this purposefully by using the
insensitive nature of the male character to
make the reader empathetic to Jig. Secondly, Jig only shows some submissive
behavior in the
beginning but her ability to manipulate the
conversation allows her to dominate the conversation.
In my view, if the story were misogynistic in nature then
the man’s perspective would be given
more attention but instead we find that it is Jig’s
struggle we identify with. In fact, I
would argue
that it is Jig’s struggle that makes the entire story. It is only possible to view the story from
Jig’s
point of view. The argument for abortion combined with
his actions and dialogue with Jig make
siding with the male character unattractive to the
reader. The man’s name isn’t even given.
That
alone makes him seem less important than Jig. I believe this is done so that the emphasis
is
focused on her not him. The review “Hemingway’s Women’s Movement” supports
this idea
when it points out that “Hemingway’s focus here is on
her victimization by her immature lover.”
(Nolan148). And
that “There is little doubt that Hemingway highlights Jig’s maturity and
superiority as he excoriates the selfishness and
insensitivity of her companion.” (Nolan148).
These interpretations are further supported by another
in a comparison study done between
Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” and John
Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums” by
Stephen K. George.
In it George admits that “The strongest evidence for implied author
sympathy for Jig and Elisa rests with the male-female
conflicts within the stories and how
unsympathetically the male antagonists are drawn by
the authors.” (George103) These ideas
are
undoubtedly brought forth because the text almost
insists that the reader identify with Jig’s
circumstance.
Both physical and emotional through the character dialogue and actions.
The
dialogue between Jig and her male companion can be hard to decipher even for the
most experienced of readers. Their conversation is almost entirely
implied. But careful
interpretive and critical reading allows the reader a
better chance to pick up on some of the
subtleties. Reading many other reviews of text should
help shed some light on any symbolisms
missed. That
said, the story reads almost like a play or as though eavesdropping on a
couple’s
conversation at a train station that’s having a few
drinks while waiting for their train. The
topic
of the conversation is abortion but that can be rather
difficult to pick up on at first until after
reading a few lines into the conversation. Right from the start the male seems to almost
have a
dismissive tone, with his response to Jig’s white
elephant analogy about the hills, when he says
“I’ve never seen one.”(Hemingway789). Which is the first indication of trouble or
that you can
really start to notice something is wrong. As you read on they seem to bicker and the
male
continues to push Jig into the abortion by saying
things like “It’s really an awfully simple
operation, Jig.”…“It’s not really an operation at
all.”(790) and “I think it’s the best
thing to do.”
(790). It’s exactly this insensitivity by the male
character that is exposed and used by
Hemingway to make the reader identify with Jig’s
plight. Along with some of her own words
when she states “Then I’ll do it. Because I don’t care about me.”(791). Again
Hemingway
shows empathy to Jig’s situation. This time making
both the male character as well as the reader
feel sympathy for Jig’s circumstance. As the story continues
to unfold we can see that Jig
actually begins to manipulate the conversation in her
favor almost confusing the man. And by
the end it of the story it is her, Jig, that has the
last word. “I am fine. There’s nothing
wrong with
me.”(792). This type of dialogue doesn’t seem
consistent with a man expressing his misogynistic
views. Allowing
a woman to have the last word in an argument doesn’t show a hatred of women
at all. Instead
it shows a respect for what she has said or for women in general.
The
actions of the characters are very few and far between but important none the
less.
Remember what I said earlier in the opening paragraph about
being careful not to overlook
anything. So
that means that everything must be scrutinized and evaluated when looking at
this
short story.
Each action can be very significant and telling in a story this short. For example,
during their conversation Jig gets up and walks away
from the man and towards the hills for a
better view it could suggest her desire to flee the
situation and not go through with the planned
abortion. Or
when later when the man gets up to carry the luggage to the other side of the
station it’s on the assumption that Jig will go
through with the abortion. And then when
the man
stops at the bar on his way back, from moving the
luggage to the other side of the train station, to
Jig for a drink alone it suggests his happiness to be
away from her if even for a moment. He
still
had his beer waiting for him at the table with Jig -
so there was no real need for him to stop at the
bar except to enjoy a moment alone without bickering
with Jig. Even his thought of the other
people “waiting reasonably” (792) while he has his
drink alone shows he is still unsympathetic to
the situation. He
is simply looking past the situation without realizing its’ implication on his
relationship with Jig.
All of this is used perfectly by Hemingway to make the reader sympathize
with Jig and her plight. Their
actions only seem to put more emphasis on the female plight of
abortion and make the male look more
antagonistic. This is not exactly what
one would expect
from a man with misogynistic point of view. In fact I would say it is exactly the
opposite of
misogyny altogether.
Hemingway
clearly used the males’ insensitive, unsympathetic and selfish behavior to
make the reader sympathize and identify with Jig and
her plight as a woman in her situation.
Although abortions may be fairly common even in 1927,
when the story was first published, they
are not always an easy decision for a woman to
make. The male characters relentless
pressure
and persistence was realistic and only served to help
Hemingway in achieving his goal of making
the story more sympathetic to women. In conclusion, I find the claims of
Hemingway’s
misogyny described in other people’s reviews is
completely unfounded and/or poorly interpreted.
The story is too inconsistent with the hatred of women
definition of misogyny to support such a
claim. It is
not an expression of male dominance over women but more of an acceptance or
validation of the feminine point of view.
Works
Cited
‘Surrendering to the
Feminine’: Implied Author Compassion in ‘The...by Stephen K. George. John Steinbeck and His Contemporaries.
Scarecrow, 2007. p61-67. Rpt.
in Short Story Criticism. Vol. 168. Word
Count: 3718.
Hemingway's 'Hills Like
White Elephants.'. Paul Rankin. Explicator
63.4 (Summer 2005):
p234-237. Rpt. in Short Story
Criticism. Ed. Jelena O. Krstovic. Vol.
117. Detroit: Gale. Word Count:
1708.FromLiterature Resource Center.
'Hills Like White
Elephants': Lean, Vintage Hemingway.
Kenneth G. Johnston.
Studies in American Fiction 10.2
(Autumn 1982): p233-238.
Rpt. in Literature Resource Center.
Detroit: Gale. Word Count: 2097.FromLiterature Resource Center
Feminist Perspective:
'Actually, I Felt Sorry for the Lion.'.
Nina Baym. New Critical
Approaches to the Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. Ed. Jackson J. Benson.
Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1990.
p112-120.
Rpt. in Short Story Criticism.
Ed. Jelena O. Krstovic. Vol. 137.
Detroit: Gale. Word Count: 4668.FromLiterature Resource Center
Hemingway’s Women’s
Movement by Charles J. Nolan, Jr.
Save
Hemingway Review 3.2 (1984): p14-22. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Vol.
190. Word Count: 5519. From Short Story
Criticism Online
Misogyny, Definition of
misogyny by Merriam-Webster
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misogyny
Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants” The Norton Introduction to Literature Ed.
Kelly J. Mays 11th ed. New
York: Norton, 2013. 788-792 Print
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