Gender Roles In Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, the author leaves an open ended question as to if the couple with have the abortion, giving readers the tip of the iceberg making them wonder what happens after the story ends. Often, society's portrayal as to how women should express their opinions and make decisions is they must at least somewhat rely on a male's opinion in making those choices. Women can and do, however, make decisions without a male counterpart's guidance, which is inarguably better for building upon their individual characters and can improve the way in which they are sometimes seen in society due to pre-conceived roles established for them over time.
The American controls, for now, Jig’s whole life;

When the American leaves to bags on the opposite side of the station, he still concludes that Jig is going to have the abortion, because to him the abundant side means giving up the baby. But to Jig it means keeping the baby, the river, grain fields, and trees represent the baby through life. When he returns, Jig is smiling, for the first time in the whole story. It expresses her content for finalizing her choice once and for all. She tells the American “There’s nothing wrong with [her]. [She] feels fine.”, she’s doing what she wants to do, not what the American told her to. It may seem like little significance, but it’s an extremely important line. In the article “Fighting for Feminism with a Fetus”, the author explains how Jig saying she feels “fine” refers to the pregnancy; there is nothing wrong with having a child and deciding upon it by herself. Jig’s response of “I feel fine” completely understates her real feeling of triumph over her boyfriend and society’s emphasis on men dominating women. Jig is standing up for herself is huge. For the first time in the story taking control of the situation to get her desired outcome. It is a huge achievement and accomplishment over the American and over Society’s portrayal of men being superior to women. As I mentioned previously, from Smith’s survey, the majority of people believed Jig would go through with the abortion. But with Jig defying this assumption of her, not only does she not let the American control her life, but she goes against Society’s idea of a woman. It may not seem huge, but by Jig simply saying no to the abortion, Jig and Hemingway take a step for feminist