How does Ernest Hemingway explore the theme of escapism and avoidance in the face of difficult decisions in “Hills Like White Elephants”?
Author: MARTIN MUNYAO MUINDE
Email: Ephantusmartin@gmail.com
Direct Answer
In “Hills Like White Elephants,” Ernest Hemingway examines the theme of escapism and avoidance as a psychological defense mechanism that prevents his characters from confronting moral and emotional realities. Through the terse dialogue between the American man and Jig, Hemingway reveals how avoidance serves as both a coping strategy and a source of emotional stagnation. The couple’s unwillingness to name or discuss the implied abortion symbolizes their deeper refusal to face the consequences of their relationship and the existential choices before them. Hemingway’s minimalist style—marked by silence, subtext, and symbolic setting—intensifies this evasion, illustrating how emotional repression leads to alienation rather than resolution (Lewis, 2013; Bennett, 2017). Ultimately, Hemingway uses escapism not merely as a theme but as a narrative technique that mirrors the characters’ psychological paralysis.
Introduction: Escapism as a Central Motif in Hemingway’s Modernist Vision
Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” is a quintessential modernist story that examines human avoidance in the face of moral and emotional complexity. The narrative centers on a man and a woman waiting for a train in the Ebro Valley of Spain, engaged in an elliptical conversation about an unnamed operation—widely interpreted as an abortion. Beneath this deceptively simple interaction lies a profound exploration of escapism: the tendency to retreat into trivialities, silence, or denial when confronted with difficult truths.
Hemingway’s sparse prose reflects the emotional sterility of his characters, particularly their incapacity for authentic communication. As Frye (1957) suggests, modernist fiction often externalizes psychological conflict through symbolic landscapes and minimalist expression. In this context, “Hills Like White Elephants” becomes a study in avoidance—where the landscape, dialogue, and silences all mirror the human impulse to flee from pain. The story’s train setting further underscores the transitory nature of the characters’ choices, symbolizing both movement and escape.
Emotional Avoidance and the Breakdown of Communication
Hemingway portrays escapism primarily through the couple’s fragmented communication. The dialogue between Jig and the American man is riddled with euphemisms and evasions; neither directly acknowledges the reality of the “operation.” The man insists that it is “perfectly simple,” reducing a life-altering moral choice to a logistical procedure. Jig, on the other hand, oscillates between passive agreement and ironic detachment, suggesting emotional fatigue.
This verbal dance of avoidance exposes the characters’ fear of vulnerability. As Gilligan (1982) observes, emotional suppression often functions as a self-protective mechanism in relationships marked by power imbalance. The American’s rationalism conceals his anxiety about responsibility, while Jig’s compliance masks her fear of abandonment. Their avoidance of authentic dialogue signifies a deeper existential paralysis—what Sartre (1943) calls bad faith—where individuals deny the burden of choice by retreating into denial. Hemingway’s minimalist dialogue thereby transforms ordinary conversation into a psychological battlefield of repression and fear.
The Role of Silence as a Symbol of Avoidance
Silence in “Hills Like White Elephants” operates as an emotional language of avoidance. Hemingway’s “iceberg theory” relies on what remains unsaid to communicate psychological tension. The pauses, ellipses, and unfinished sentences reveal what the characters cannot articulate. Jig’s request—“Would you please please please please please please stop talking?”—is not merely irritation; it is a cry for relief from the emotional weight of avoidance itself.
According to Bennett (2017), Hemingway’s silences function as “psychological voids,” spaces where meaning is suspended because the characters lack the courage to confront truth. This silence extends beyond verbal communication to moral disengagement. The characters’ failure to discuss the abortion directly allows them to maintain an illusion of control, even as it deepens their emotional estrangement. Silence becomes both refuge and prison—a mechanism that protects them from pain while ensuring their continued isolation.
Symbolism of the Landscape: Externalizing Internal Avoidance
The symbolic geography of the Ebro Valley mirrors the characters’ divided psyche. On one side of the train station lies a lush, fertile landscape; on the other, a barren, dry plain. This contrast reflects the choice before the couple: life and responsibility versus emptiness and escape. Jig’s observation that the hills “look like white elephants” embodies both the burden of pregnancy and the beauty of potential creation. Her partner’s dismissive response—“I’ve never seen one”—reveals his refusal to engage with the deeper implications of her metaphor.
As Frye (1957) and Lewis (2013) note, Hemingway’s landscapes function as externalizations of psychological states. The barren side represents avoidance and denial—the emotional sterility resulting from evasion—while the fertile side symbolizes the possibility of growth, responsibility, and self-acceptance. The characters’ physical placement between these two landscapes reflects their moral limbo, suspended between choice and avoidance. The train tracks cutting through the valley serve as an emblem of transience and indecision, reinforcing their inability to remain still long enough to confront reality.
Gender and the Emotional Burden of Avoidance
Hemingway’s depiction of avoidance also exposes gendered power dynamics. The American’s attempts to rationalize and minimize the situation contrast sharply with Jig’s intuitive understanding of its moral and emotional complexity. As Gilligan (1982) argues, patriarchal relationships often force women into emotional labor—the burden of maintaining relational harmony while suppressing personal needs. Jig’s silence, therefore, represents both submission and quiet resistance.
Her identity is subsumed under the man’s pragmatic worldview, which treats emotional complexity as inconvenience. By insisting that “it’s perfectly simple,” the American enacts what Lewis (2013) calls “emotional imperialism”—the domination of subjective experience by rational control. Jig’s reluctant agreement—“Then I’ll do it because I don’t care about me”—marks the climax of her internal defeat. She participates in avoidance not because she believes it right, but because resistance feels futile. Hemingway thus presents avoidance not merely as a psychological flaw, but as a symptom of gendered oppression.
Escapism as Psychological Defense
Psychologically, escapism in Hemingway’s story functions as a defense against anxiety and guilt. The couple distracts themselves with superficial pleasures—ordering drinks, commenting on the scenery—to suppress emotional discomfort. Their reliance on alcohol underscores the theme of avoidance; as Bennett (2017) suggests, alcohol often symbolizes the desire to dull moral awareness in modernist literature. Each drink represents a temporary reprieve from the weight of decision-making, reinforcing the illusion of control amid emotional chaos.
From a Freudian perspective, the characters’ avoidance manifests as repression—a refusal to confront unconscious fears. The American represses his guilt about coercing Jig into the operation, while Jig suppresses her grief over the potential loss of motherhood. Their shared escapism thus becomes a form of collusion, a silent agreement to avoid pain even at the cost of authenticity. Hemingway’s understated style amplifies this repression, making avoidance not just a theme but the very structure of the narrative.
The Illusion of Choice and Moral Cowardice
Hemingway masterfully portrays escapism as the illusion of choice. The American repeatedly insists that Jig has freedom—“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to”—but his language manipulates her into conformity. His feigned neutrality masks moral cowardice; he seeks to absolve himself of responsibility by framing the decision as hers. This psychological strategy, described by Sartre (1943) as bad faith, allows him to escape the moral consequences of his influence.
Jig, caught in this illusion of autonomy, experiences the agony of decision without the freedom of choice. Her internal conflict—between preserving the relationship and preserving herself—embodies the destructive power of avoidance. Hemingway’s minimalist narration exposes the irony of their situation: in trying to escape discomfort, they create deeper emotional entrapment. The story thus illustrates that avoidance, while offering temporary relief, ultimately leads to existential emptiness.
The Existential Dimension of Avoidance
At its core, “Hills Like White Elephants” dramatizes the existential dilemma of avoidance in human freedom. As Camus (1951) asserts, human beings seek meaning yet recoil from the responsibility it entails. The couple’s dialogue reflects this paradox: they desire harmony without confronting the moral choices necessary to achieve it. Hemingway’s sparse, detached style mirrors the existential condition of alienation—where meaning is deferred through endless avoidance.
Jig’s shifting tone—from irony to despair—reflects her growing awareness of this existential void. Her gaze toward the fertile hills signifies a fleeting recognition of meaning and potential, yet her return to silence reveals resignation. As Lewis (2013) notes, Hemingway’s characters often inhabit a moral vacuum where emotional avoidance becomes a substitute for faith or purpose. The story’s unresolved ending reinforces this existential tension: the train arrives, but no decision is made. The escape remains physical, not spiritual.
Symbolic Escapism: Travel and Transience
The motif of travel in “Hills Like White Elephants” symbolizes the couple’s desire for escape without confrontation. The train station—a transient space between destinations—reflects their psychological state: restless, indecisive, and rootless. Movement becomes a metaphor for denial; by constantly “going somewhere,” they avoid being anywhere long enough to face themselves.
This symbolism aligns with Hemingway’s broader modernist themes of displacement and emotional exile. As Frye (1957) explains, modernist narratives often equate travel with existential drift—a perpetual avoidance of meaning. The couple’s impending journey thus represents not progress but evasion. Their transience mirrors the moral instability of a generation scarred by war and disillusionment, seeking distraction from the emptiness of freedom.
The Cost of Avoidance: Emotional and Moral Consequences
Hemingway reveals that escapism exacts a profound emotional cost. By avoiding genuine communication, the couple sacrifices intimacy, empathy, and moral clarity. Their relationship, sustained by denial, deteriorates into emotional sterility. Jig’s eventual silence signifies not peace but resignation—a surrender of selfhood to the illusion of harmony.
As Frankl (1946) contends, meaning arises only through confrontation with responsibility. The couple’s refusal to face their moral dilemma results in spiritual stagnation. Hemingway’s minimalist conclusion—“She was looking off at the line of hills. They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry.”—encapsulates the story’s bleak truth: avoidance may preserve comfort, but it annihilates connection. The characters remain physically together yet spiritually apart, imprisoned by their shared fear of truth.
Conclusion: The Tragedy of Escaping the Self
Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” stands as a timeless exploration of escapism and avoidance in the face of difficult decisions. Through minimalism, symbolism, and psychological precision, Hemingway exposes the human tendency to flee from responsibility and emotional pain. The couple’s silence, travel, and superficiality embody the tragedy of modern avoidance—where the pursuit of comfort leads to alienation rather than peace.
Hemingway’s narrative suggests that escapism, while seemingly protective, erodes authenticity and love. In refusing to confront their shared moral dilemma, Jig and the American lose not only each other but themselves. The story’s unresolved ending mirrors the perpetual human condition: the struggle to face truth without retreating into denial. Ultimately, Hemingway warns that avoidance may delay pain, but it ensures emptiness—a lesson as urgent today as it was in the modernist age.
References
-
Bennett, A. (2017). Ethics in Modern Fiction: The Moral Imagination of the Twentieth Century. Oxford University Press.
-
Camus, A. (1951). The Rebel. Gallimard.
-
Frankl, V. (1946). Man’s Search for Meaning. Beacon Press.
-
Frye, N. (1957). Anatomy of Criticism. Princeton University Press.
-
Gilligan, C. (1982). In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women’s Development. Harvard University Press.
-
Lewis, P. (2013). The Modern Imagination: Freedom and Moral Consciousness in Literature. Routledge.
-
Sartre, J.-P. (1943). Being and Nothingness. Gallimard.