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Edina Miskei

Professor: Vladislava Gordić-Petković

Short Stories of Hemingway

May 2014

Love, Alienation and Fear of Commitment in Hemingway’s Hills like

White Elephants and Cat in the Rain

Love is a universal topic dealt with by almost every writer and

poet regardless of age, gender or nationality. Although love is

omnipresent in each era from ancient times up to now, the concept

of love or at least its perception and quality has changed with

time. As a consequence of the First and Second World War people

gradually got alienated from each other, since those who

witnessed the unsettling ghastly scenes on the battlefields could

not face reality properly, and as a result became isolated and

secluded. Among them were the people of the so called “Lost

generation” young people who took part in First World War.

“Lost” meant disorientation and aimlessness after the war among

the survivors. These “war cripples” if not physically, were

emotionally tormented by the terrifying events and sights they

bore witness to. They were unable to cope with their experiences,

which sealed their interpersonal relationships. They got

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alienated and isolated from others and were unable to maintain a

functional caring relationship. Love got another dimension which

also entailed alienation. Hemingway as an influential author and

spokesperson of his era also engaged in these topics. He joined

the ranks of artists who dealt with the topic of problematic love

in his two widely-acclaimed short stories Hills like White Elephants and

Cat in the Rain.

In this paper, I will be analyzing the quality of love in the

aforementioned short stories, including the possible

interpretations and reasons for the characters’ alienation from

each other. I will also attempt at providing explanations for the

fear of commitment, and will reflect on the inter-relatedness of

these topics comparing the two stories.

Love and Alienation

In these stories, Hemingway centers his attention on love but

not of the romantic, idyllic type full of harmony and

understanding, mutual support and patience, but on love where the

two parties are estranged and detached. The fear of commitment

also arises as an issue in these stories, since it is closely

linked to alienation. The partners are afraid of real connection,

of revealing their true feelings and thoughts trying to remain

aloof and to retain their own private spheres. Consequently, they

are unwilling to commit themselves entirely to their beloved,

since it would mean giving up their comfortable lives in freedom

without obligations, furthermore breaking their privacy and

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isolation. Being committed to someone means sharing and

sacrificing something for the good of both, but it is too high a

price the characters (in case of these stories, the men) are

ready to pay.

Love can manifest itself in the most diverse ways, involving

the urge to possess. It can be so intense that people cannot face

the fact that they really must not and cannot really possess a

human being. Everybody has its own private sphere, a kind of

bubble surrounding a person which should be respected even in a

closest relationship. Although a person has to have his own self

and retain his own life and personality, it can be taken too far

when the two parties are overly detached from each other not

having enough meeting points and. Either it is the result of or

it results in the lack of communication, which is one of the

major problems of the modern relationships. Real interaction

which could be the solution to major problems in a relationship

has been turned into superficial shallow “chit-chat” leading to

nowhere. Although love does exist in Hemingway’s stories Hills like

White Elephants and Cat in the Rain, it is troubled and besmirched with

the disease of the modern age, that is, alienation resulting from

the breakdown of communication. The characters are not fully

aware of their feelings and wishes, sometimes even their

problems; therefore they are at loss of the solution to these

difficulties.

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In the story Hills like White Elephants Hemingway presents a couple,

probably a younger one a girl whose name (supposedly a nickname,

Jig) is mentioned a few times only by the American whose name, in

turn, is not revealed throughout the story and who is referred to

simply as “the American”. This can indicate Hemingway’s intention

to present him as a generic type, an everyman a representative

of patriarchy. Regardless of the story’s curtness, deep layers

and hidden aspects of the couple’s relationship come to surface.

Shortly after the first sentences of the story, light is cast on

the type of relationship the girl and the American have. It turns

out that it is rather superficial, consisting mostly of trying

out new drinks, travelling to various cities and having light,

empty conversations. This can be observed by the very first

sentence of the dialogue between the couple, which starts off

with “ ‘What should we drink?’ ” (Hemingway 199), asked by the

girl. This is the only concern of theirs, or at least that is how

it seems. Fletcher notes this saying, “the couple’s relationship

is evident from the outset in their preoccupation with ordering

drinks and in their attempts at light conversation. Their talk is

empty, meaningless” (Fletcher 17).

They are constantly on the move, travelling from one place to

another, which is revealed by “the bags with labels on them from

all the hotels they had spent nights” (Hemingway 202). They

entertain themselves with various activities, only to escape

their ‘harsh’ reality and adult responsibilities. Their life has

been an adventure without any obligations and commitments up to

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this point, when they arrived to a junction of their relationship

and “of their opposing viewpoints” (Renner 35); an impasse which

is literally represented by the couple’s stop at Barcelona before

proceeding to their final destination, Madrid. This is a turning

point from where there is no return. Although it is not stated

outright, the main issue disrupting their dubious harmony and

carefree and reckless life is the girl’s pregnancy. However, the

very word “abortion” is never mentioned in the story, the signs

and descriptions such as “letting the air in” or an it is just an

“awfully simple operation” can give it easily away. In regard to

the decision they have to make, the setting of the story is very

relevant. The conflict between the two sides is metaphorically

presented through the landscape. Fletcher reflects on this,

saying, “The tension in setting is obvious and prepares the

reader for the conflict between the lovers who have reached an

impasse in their relationship” (Fletcher 17). The station is

located between “two lines of rails in the sun” (Hemingway 199),

between the girl’s and the American’s side. On one side, there

are the “hills on the dry side of the valley”, while on the other

there is “fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro”

(Renner 28). The setting illustrates Jig’s choice “between

sterility and fertility” (qtd. in Wyche 60).

Renner also points this out,

Here setting neatly reinforces conflict: the two lines

of rails, presumably going in opposite directions,

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represent figuratively the decision point at which the

couple find themselves. They must choose which way to

go, to have the abortion or the child…Thus in choosing

whether to abort or to have the child, the couple are

choosing between two ways of life (Renner, 28)

that is, the continuation of their hedonistic ‘infertile’ life

on one side, and the “stream of life” (Renner 28) in fertility

and abundance on the other. Renner remarks that,

This side of the station [where the couple is sitting],

facing out towards the hills on the same side of the

valley, where ‘there was no shade and no trees,’ has

been widely associated with the barrenness and

sterility both of the implications of going through

with an abortion and of the current state of the

couple’s relationship (Renner 30).

From the two of them, the man is obviously the one who prefers

this free lifestyle without settling down physically and mentally

alike. He is perfectly comfortable with it, since it does not

involve any serious decisions or obligations. He can have fun

without the nuisance of planning for the future. Renner

addresses this very issue in the following,

There can be little doubt that the couple’s life

together as the story opens has been conducted along

lines that suit the American’s desires: their travels

looking at things and trying new drinks revolve around

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“all the hotels where they had spent nights”. This is a

male’s sexual playhouse, which, not surprisingly, the

American is loath to give up (Renner 29).

It seems that their relationship is not deeply rooted but

rather superficial and unstable, in every minute could be

shattered into pieces. This is obvious from the fact that they do

not have much to talk about apart from drinks, and probably that

triggers the girl to say such ‘foolish things’ as the hills look

like white elephants. Their travelling around can be interpreted

as escaping from reality, postponing the maturing process and

refusing to take responsibility for their actions. The girl

appears to be less childish than the man, but still both are

children in adult bodies. Jig willingly gives up her own

birthright to decide for herself, be it so petty things as

ordering a drink at the beginning of the story; therefore, she

bestows the power of control on him. Renner highlights this in

the following citation,

She is accustomed to following the lead of her male

companion, but in this situation she finds herself

uncomfortable with the direction he wants to take.

Conditioned to be lead by others, she does not know her

own mind and therefore cannot articulate it to her male

leader (Renner 29).

Her process of growth commences with this very decision she is

forced to make. This is an extremely difficult and impossible

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choice which will change their lives for good. She is alone in

this predicament to decide, since she cannot rely on her partner.

According to Wyche, “Both characters are isolated by their

predicament and by the decision they have to make” (61). This

unavoidable decision creates friction in their life. They have

never been close enough, and after this, they will never be

either. They are completely alienated lacking the basic thing in

a relationship communication. The girl attempts at initiating a

conversation comparing the hills with white elephants, but the

man is unable to grasp the meaning of it, and with his practical

- logical way of thinking he is excluded from her imaginative

fantasy world full of vivid images. This talk ends up in a

childish teasing and joshing of each other which can be seen when

the man abruptly reacts on the girl’s sentence with “Oh, cut it

out”, to which her response is the cliché-like blame-shifting

answer: “You started it” (Hemingway 200). Obviously, they are not

mature enough to realize that with wasting time trying to put the

blame on the other and being occupied with reproofing and finding

fault with each other, they can never come to terms with their

feelings and can never figure out the solution to their problems.

This kind of childish behavior leads nowhere only creating a

vicious circle, going round and round endlessly.

“This childish interchange […] [is] reminding us not only that

Jig is young, but that anyone might feel justifiably child-like

when faced with such a profoundly life-altering situation” (Wyche

61).

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This very reaction of the American also demonstrates the

underlying tension existing between the couple, which will result

in the girl’s outburst repeating the word “please” seven times.

She gets extremely annoyed by the man’s hypocritical insistence

on her freedom of choice, but still she controls herself and

unlike the man she does not resort to using offensive language.

This also shows the hierarchical ordering in their relationship,

where the man is in charge behaving superiorly to the girl. He

allows himself to be rude with her and treat her feelings

nonchalantly, indifferently. Renner also reaffirms this,

Clearly the American is the leader in their

relationship he knows Spanish, the language of the

country they are traveling, he is knowledgeable about

drinks and he is in charge of their luggage and thus,

presumably, of the destination of their travels. (29).

Although it may seem that they are having a very good time,

building an almost idyllic relationship, the girl is in an

inferior position and this inequality cast a shadow on their

affair. Similarly, the man’s need to remind the girl that they

should try to have a good time, reveals the very opposite of it.

This is true that she “was trying” at least by saying half-

meaningful sentences like the hills were like white elephants,

but it is all in vain. They are on different sides and are unable

to accept the other side.

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In one sentence she manages to summarize the essence of their

relationship and realizes the gravity of the situation: “I wanted

to try this new drink: ‘That’s all we do, isn’t it- look at

things and try new drinks?’ ” (Hemingway 200). She is growing

before our eyes, since she “manages to articulate, again

figuratively, what has no doubt been an increasing awareness of

the emptiness of the couple’s lifestyle to date” (Wyche 61).

Instead of recognizing the problem and trying to find the

appropriate solution to it, the man answers with “ ‘I guess so’ ”

(Hemingway 200), and here the discussion ends. They either go

silent when they are at loss of a retort or a resourceful

response, or change topic (for example the girl keeps returning

to her white elephant hills). Without the proper interaction

which is at the heart of a functional relationship, it is

foredoomed to failure. It does not matter so much whether the

couple is estranged for the lack of communication or vice versa

(they do not converse properly because they are alienated), in

neither of these cases can they improve their life together since

they are in want of the tool for it. They are alienated on many

levels; they do not have a deeply devoted relationship from the

start, adding to it the fact that they prefer silence or

gibberish to real quality talking, and when it comes to such

serious matters as the destiny of a child, understandably they

cannot cope with it, they are unable to reach an agreement by

means of interaction.

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Almost only in the middle of the story does the American

introduce the topic of abortion saying that it is an “awfully

simple operation” (Hemingway 200). The man is trying to draw her

to his side, talking her into abortion while, ironically, doing

the complete opposite, emphasizing that the decision is up to

her. His intentions are pretty transparent, since he keeps

repeating the sentence that she should not undertake the abortion

if she does not want to, never failing to add that it is

perfectly simple, not an operation at all, and really the best

and only thing to do. In this way he tries to retain the

appearance of free choice for the girl, but in fact, he sets a

condition for their love affair either the baby or him. His

attitude perfectly represents his insecurity and immaturity. He

is far from being ready for paternity being a child himself. He

cannot take responsibility for his own actions let alone for a

child. He is only for the fun part, but not for the adult life

full of obligations. Simply, he is afraid of commitments not only

to the girl but to the yet unborn baby as well. She is willing to

accept his conditions as long as he can promise he will love her,

using this as a warrant for his love. “ ‘And if I do it you’ll be

happy and things will be like they were and you’ll love me?’ ”

(Hemingway 201). She falls back on their past when she was

absolutely convinced of his love, but now her faith seems to be

shaken. He claims that he loves her now and cannot promise

anything for the future, which is not completely incorrect since

nobody can be sure what will be happen to them in days to come.

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The girl needs reassurance after all, hearing her companion

saying the words “I love you” and only then is she ready to make

a sacrifice. The American is worried since he wants to get rid of

the upcoming responsibility. All this results in the girl’s

giving up on herself saying that she doesn’t care about herself.

Here, she is probably ironic, maybe having a well-contrived plan

on her mind, or maybe she tells the truth. Wyche claims that,

“[t]his is no capitulation, no abandonment of self, but an

attempt calculated, instinctive or bothto elicit the desired

response from the man” (Wyche 63).

As Renner notes,

the American who wants to perpetuate the status quo of

the couple’s relationship, and the girl, who in the

habit of doing what he wants, has not yet developed the

mechanism to know what she wants, much less to

articulate it. Thus she cannot forthrightly contest her

companion’s urging, but neither, because of what is at

stake in this case, can she stifle her own feelings,

which express themselves involuntarily in the form of

sarcasm and figurative language (Renner 29).

Fear of Commitment

According to Fletcher, “Jig’s pregnancy, which requires a

commitment the man is unwilling to make and the girl is unwilling

to demand because pleasure has been the summum bonum of their

existence together” (Flethcer 17). The girl appears to be more

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prepared for maternity, although at some points this can be

questioned. For her, this pregnancy is personal and very

realistic, not so far-fetched as for the man who sees it as a

disposable object: “[t]o Jig, the unborn child is eminently,

painfully real; to the American it is a concept, an abstraction,

and too expensive to keep” (Wyche 61). She is called “a girl”

throughout the story which underlines Hemingway’s wish to present

her as immature and childish. She is not mature enough for this

role, which is contained in her sentence; “ ‘Because I don’t care

about me’ ” (Hemingway 201). She does not have stable fixed

identity, or if she does, she is easily willing to give it up for

a man’s sake. She cannot be a good mother and care about another

human being, unless she does not love herself and respect her own

standpoint and will, and most importantly her body. However, she

is more mature than the man, since she knows that they cannot

have everything after their decision. When she says, “ ‘[a]nd we

could have everything and every day we make it more impossible’ ”

(Hemingway 201). By “everything” she probably means family,

settling down; while the American’s “everything” might refer to

the whole world they have been travelling to, the hotels,

excitements, the carefree comfortable life they lead prior to

this “mishap”. The two sides are in diametrical opposition and

almost impossible for them to find middle ground and to reconcile

them.

How selfish and irresponsible the man is, turns out when he

utters the following, “ ‘I’m perfectly willing to go through with

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it if it means anything to you’ ” (Hemingway 202). This sentence

undoubtedly succeeds to astonish the reader along with the girl.

He does not want anything to disturb the (fake) harmony between

them, and he wants to possess Jig in her entirety. When he claims

that he would do anything for her, we know just as Jig does that

he is lying. He would do anything within his comfort zone, but

having a child falls far out of it. He does not want to commit

himself to the role of a father. He is secretly terrified even at

the thought of it and that is why he will make any steps in order

to avoid it. He sees it as an obstacle to their happiness not

realizing that his attitude is the reason for their unhappiness

more than anything. He says: “ ‘[t]hat’s the only thing that

bothers us. It’s the only thing that’s made us unhappy’ ”

(Hemingway 200). But is it the only thing really? Who would want

to have a child with this kind of a man?

Love indeed?

‘Is this love?’ is the question which arises reading this

story. Hashmi argues that “[t]he conversation between the two

seems to indicate that there is little love between them. Thus

the girl, who now wants more than a relationship based on sex and

alcohol, would have no reason to stay on with the man”. So, do

they love each other? The answer is yes and no. It can be treated

as a kind of love, although a problematic one, being superficial

and rather empty, lacking communication, sympathy and empathy,

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support and understanding. Even if he loves her, it is not pure

love, what it should be. He is not devoted enough (or at all) to

this relationship, and thinks and cares only about himself. “He

loves her in his own way” one would say, but this is not an

excuse and pretext for his behavior. If this is his maximum, it

does not serve as a reason and explanation that it is normal.

Love definitely exists between the couple, but it is not strong

enough to keep them together after all. The girl’s feelings are

supposedly stronger than the man’s since he is too occupied with

his own needs and wishes.

Love can be manifested in several ways, and this is one of

them. Although maybe not the kind anybody would wish for, but

still we cannot deny its presence. If the girl did not love him,

she would not be ready to risk her own health (physical and

mental) and undergo such a risky intervention. She is well aware

of its danger, she says, “ ‘[n]or that isn’t good for me’ ”

(Hemingway 202). As for the man, he also loves the girl or is

attached to her and relies on her. He makes an effort at

persuading her to terminate her pregnancy. He sticks to her and

wants exclusively her and not the baby, since he feels threatened

by the role of being a father. With its birth, he wouldn’t be the

girl’s priority. He just wants to be with her without anybody

disturbing their peace. His viewpoint can be understood to a

certain extent; however, it does not mean that it is correct, and

it could not serve as a model for a successful relationship. We

are unfamiliar with his background, and he might be tormented by

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something that serves as a reason for his behavior and the way he

acts.

Abortion can be interpreted not only on the literal level but

also metaphorically representing the barrenness, sterility of

their love. Wyche supports this argument saying that it “is both

a metaphor for the fate of the protagonists’ love affair and an

allegorical vehicle for Hemingway’s response to a series of

terminated relationships in his own life” (Wyche 58).

“Her pregnancy is an apt metaphor for the life she has lived

with the American” (Hannum 52 qtd. in Wyche 60).

There are many possible outcomes of this predicament, still,

most critics argue for the one where the girl leaves the man

keeping the baby or not. Wyche also asserts this saying,

“[t]he outcome of the protagonists’ love affair, however is

less controversial. Critics who foresee abortion, and those who

do not, tend to agree that Jig and the American will not long

remain a couple” (Wyche 59).

Fletcher says that, “[t]he rootless barren life, devoid of

responsibility, is represented by the dry hills, the side the

couple is already on. Their stilted conversation, their lack of

spontaneity, indicate their denial of life; but Jill believes

they can forego the abortion, accept the responsibility of

parenthood, and inherit the “other side” ” (18).

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The other story titled Cat in the Rain also addresses the topics of

love, alienation and fear of commitment through an episode in a

married couple’s life. In this story these issues are subtly

depicted and hidden between the lines; the reader should solve

the big picture by relying on some hints. Here, two Americans

stop at an Italian hotel, and in contrast to the previous one,

only the man’s name, George, is revealed. The story can be

interpreted as it is focused on the couple, on both of them

equally; but also, since it is presented from the woman’s point

of view, as her story. Another possibility is that it revolves

around George, as his name is the only one mentioned in the

story. At first sight the main topic seems to be the kitten in

the rain and the woman’s urgent need to save it. But of course

there is more to it; the cat is solely an incentive which makes

us readers think about the couple’s relationship the unspoken

thoughts and feelings underlying their actions. The cat leads us

back to the roots of their problems.

Basically, the story is built around two symbols the cat and

George’s reading of a book. Both of these give away the state of

their marriage. Firstly, while standing at the window of their

hotel room, the woman is staring out and noticing the cat

crouching under their window. Her immediate response to this is

that she wants to save it from the rain. Although her husband

offers his help (we do not know if he is sincere or only being

nice), she flatly refuses his offer. There can be several

explanations to this. Either she feels so dedicated to this cause

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that she is unwilling to give this over to her husband; or simply

she wants to be alone getting rid of him even for a moment. When

the cat escapes, she gets very disappointed which is an

indication of something much deeper. Why would she be so devoted

to a cat that she has not even had? The cat is a substitution for

the things she lacks in that relationship; it symbolically

represents somebody who would truly care about her or she could

take care of. It could be interpreted as a metaphor for her

husband or an unborn child. It is also possible that the woman is

already pregnant or she wishes she would be. One of the critics

John V. Hagopian sees the story as a marriage crisis “involving

the lack of fertility, which is symbolically foreshadowed by the

public garden (fertility) dominated by the war monument (death).

He also suggests that the wife’s feelings being “very small and

tight inside” might describe a pregnant woman. “The conscious

thought of pregnancy never enters her mind, but the feeling

associated with it sweep through her” (qtd. in Bennet 26). Also,

the kitty can be the wife herself who is standing in the rain

waiting for somebody to protect and save her.

The events are presented from the woman’s point of view,

however, we as readers learn little about the deeper aspects of

her emotional state. Consequently, one cannot be sure if

pregnancy crosses her mind or not. Such a blessing as a child

would be the crown of a functional marriage, the fruit of

happiness, but here it could only be a substitution for all that

has been lost or has never been attained. The woman is unable or

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unwilling to channel her wishes to her husband, including having

a baby. However, in the end she has about enough of everything

and provides a list of her own wishes.

Obviously, theirs is not a loving and caring relationship, far

from being harmonious and idyllic. The woman’s need to have a cat

in order to express her tenderness towards it instead of her

husband is a tell-tale sign that something is missing from their

marriage. Additionally, George’s only occupation is reading

throughout the whole story stopping only for seconds to ask or

comment on something, which also proves their alienation from

each other. He does not care enough for his wife since he is

absorbed in his world. He strives to maintain the appearance of

listening and answering the questions she poses, he even asks “

‘Did you get the cat?’ ” (Hemingway 108), but it seems more like

a habitual act rather than sincere curiosity. He never asks her

about serious matters such as her feelings. When she admits that

she wants the cat so much, he goes silent and carries on with

reading, ignoring her needs completely. At one point in the story

this is even stated straightforwardly: “ ‘George was not

listening’ ” (Hemingway 109). This is an indicator that such a

crucial thing as communication does not function in this

relationship. They are unaware of each other’s internal

struggles, and since they lack proper interaction it is

impossible for them to learn and solve these difficulties.

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We can assume that the act of reading for the man is a way out

of reality or his tormented past. Since the story is published in

1925, after the First World War, perhaps he is one of those “war

cripples” who went through or witnessed horrible events in the

war, so that he cannot get over them. He can be seen as part of

the “Lost generation”, many of whom moved to Europe, mostly

Paris, thus becoming expatriates. The story is set in Italy,

which also reinforces the fact that the man is lost not only in

his mind, but is an alien in a foreign country, too. Taken into

consideration the possible background causing the man’s mental

state, we can understand his position and even feel sympathy for

him. However, the wife fails to comprehend his state and

viewpoint, and cannot handle him properly. She fails to grasp the

problems the man is supposedly grappling with, and she is deeply

unsatisfied with her life without realizing that she is not alone

in this predicament. The man seems completely indifferent to

change anything in their marriage, while the woman takes a kind

of initiative when she expresses her own list of wishes starting

from her hair to having a cat. Still, neither of them can come up

with a viable solution to their problems, and they do not even

try. “Scholarship has generally approached it as a story of

“marital dissatisfaction” (qtd. in Berrett 26).

The mental detachment and psychological boundary between the

couple is also manifested spatially. The wife is standing at the

window while in the room, or is outside in the garden

unprotected, whereas the man chooses, as his realm, the bed where

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he is lying throughout the entire story. As in the first story

Hills like White Elephants, here we have two distinct sides, divided by

two ways of thinking and feeling. These two sides seem

irreconcilable and they rarely meet. The woman attempts to enter

the man’s sphere and become closer to him by sitting next to him

on the bed. Felty remarks this pointing out,

George is still on the bed, his space in the story,

reading the book that becomes the emblem of the

emotional barrier between the couple. When he puts his

book down he breaks this barrier. The moment when the

wife sits on the bed next to the man, she tries to

transcend the emotional wall of their marriage. By

sharing space and attempting at communication with him,

the wife tries to break the barrier but fails, as he is

unaware of or unwilling to acknowledge her needs and

desires (Felty 368).

She wants to “express her desire for emotional closeness by

sitting “down on the bed” (Bennett 32). Unfortunately, an optimal

closeness is too much to get from the person who is supposed to

be the one who should be most intimate with her.

Apart from their alienation as a result of communication

breakdown, underlying personal tragedies or indifference, they

are strangers in a foreign country, in Italy where they are

isolated from the rest of the people because of the language

barrier. The second sentence of the story establishes this: “

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‘[t]hey did not know any of the people’ ” (Hemingway 107). Also,

they are confined in their room (Felty) as their emotional

prison, metaphorically representing their marriage which has been

imprisoning them for so long.

In this story, fear of commitment is not so obvious as in the

other one, but still it is present. Although the two of them are

already married, the man is not committed enough to his wife. He

ignores her wishes and centers his attention on reading. Also, he

wants her to look like him; a boyish flapper girl with bobbed

hair of the “Roaring twenties”. This image of a girl represented

woman’s freedom of choice (in clothing, hairstyle, lifestyle, or

the way of behavior), a sign of change of women’s role in

society. However, the wife is longing for the traditional social

role of a woman (to be a housewife), she wishes to settle down in

a big house and establish a family. An example for this can be

found in the sentence, “ ‘[d]on’t you think it would be a good

idea if I let my hair grow out?’ ” (Hemingway 109). She goes on

adding other wishes related to a more traditional lifestyle. When

she emphasizes that she wants to eat at a table with her own

silver reveals the fact that the couple usually is not in their

own home, but they have been spending time travelling from one

place to another. This is another aspect in which the two stories

are similar. Travelling serves as an excuse for postponing the

expansion of their family, that is, having a baby. The man

strives to retain the current state of affairs when he says “You

look pretty darn nice” (Hemingway 109) as an answer to her

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sentence “ ‘I get so tired of looking like a boy’ ” (Hemingway

109), and when the woman carries on, he only utters “Yeah?” with

an annoyed and sarcastic overtone. She wants to settle down and

go back to America, to her native country. Once the woman

expresses her wishes which would indicate change in their

relationship, he gets extremely irritated to such a degree that

he becomes rude saying “ ‘Oh, shut up and get something to read’

” (Hemingway 109). In want of other solutions, he invites her in

his own secluded world of reading, so that they could carry on

together on this path of ignorance leading nowhere. Communication

could be a solution by which they could reach an agreement and

gain understanding of each other’s feelings, but they have snug

in this cozy state of emotional numbness and alienation, so that

they would feel insecure and unprotected once they would open up

to their partner. Although they are married and probably old

enough to commit themselves to another person and take

responsibilities for their feelings and lives, still they are

immature and unprepared for such a big step as taking care of

each other, let alone a child.

The man is the one who insists on this kind of lifestyle though

the woman goes along with it and accepts it till the very end of

the story, which may be a turning point in their marriage. This

lifestyle causes dissatisfaction in the woman and only seemingly

and superficially favours the man. She yearns for good weather,

for spring, the rebirth from her old life in shackles, when she

can be free and perfectly happy having someone who would “stroke

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her”, and she would “purr”. “But it is not good weather and her

life with George is as empty as the square outside” (Bennett 33).

Another similarity between the two stories Hills like White Elephants

and Cat in the Rain is that both women characters are under male

control, having an inferior position to them. In the latter, the

woman’s need to repeat her wish of having a cat indicates that

she does not have complete control over her life. She also adds,

“ ‘If I can’t have long hair or any fun, I can have a cat’ ”

(109). This sentence sheds light on their relationship where the

man is the boss, and the freedom of choice is in the man’s hands.

Everything she does has to be approved by him. Although they take

on a liberated spirit, the patriarchal hierarchy remains, and the

man is still in charge. This is also true to Hills like White Elephants

where the girl is seemingly given the freedom to decide, whereas

her decision is manipulated by the man.

Love is also a problematic and a very complex topic in Cat in the

Rain. One cannot say explicitly and easily if it exists or not,

or in what way it is manifested. Nevertheless, it does exist,

only that, it has been faded with years and it has turned into

habit. They take their love for granted not fighting for it or

building their marriage by means of the most salient element,

i.e. love. They are isolated from each other but fail to

recognize that this is solely their fault, and they could alter

it. Everybody has their own needs and thoughts, and unless they

communicate it with their partners, the relationship is bound to

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fail. Here, the wife longs for human contact, for somebody she

can share her emotions with, whom she is the only one and who

would protect her; but she cannot find a real partner in her

husband. Undoubtedly, their marriage is based on love but not on

mutual understanding and respect which is crucial for love to

thrive. They have already forgotten what they really mean to each

other and why they are together at all.

Unfortunately, she gets more attention and care from the hotel

keeper, ‘the padrone’ than from her own husband. The old man

behaves fatherly with her and more protective. Ironically, this

accidental temporary acquaintance can provide her with relief.

Sadly, the husband and wife have become strangers, which is not

unprecedented in marriages. Unless they work on their

relationship, they can never fix it.

Conclusion

Comparing the two stories we can find several similar aspects.

Both of them revolve around a couple, the difference is that in

Cat in the Rain they are married, but the quality of the

relationships is the same in both the pairs are alienated from

each other. In Hills like White Elephants they probably never had a deep

loving relationship, while in the other they might have had, only

that they got estranged gradually as the years passed by. In both

relationships there is hierarchical ordering, where the man

behaves superior to the woman.

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When it comes to fear of commitment, it is present in both. In

Hills like White Elephants it is more obvious, since the couple is

facing a life-changing decision where the man is loath to take

responsibility for the unborn child, so he opts for abortion. In

the second story, there is no explicit hint that the woman is

pregnant or that she was probably due to the man’s unwillingness

to commit himself to this marriage. He cannot figure out his own

life, therefore he is not prepared for paternity. In both stories

the women lack their own opinion and freedom, and are subjected

to their male partners, but in the end they both speak their mind

pouring out their hearts getting rid of the heavy burden they

have been carrying from time immemorial. Both women reassert

themselves eventually. Jig says “ ‘[t]here is nothing wrong with

me’ ” (Hemingway 203), indicating that the only problem is the

man. Though ungraspable, love does exist in both works of art,

but it is a very complex and problematic topic. Certainly, both

couples’ relationship includes love, but the question is to what

extent. They do care about each other although it might be too

little to set aright their relationships. Lack of communication

is only one of the reasons for their alienation, which makes it

impossible for them to come to a solution jointly. Instead of

being allies, in both cases the companions behave like strangers

or worse, as if they were enemies.

Both stories are representatives of interpersonal relationships

resembling those of the “Lost generation”. They were unable to

build functional relations for they were estranged and isolated

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from the terrifying post-war world and from themselves as well.

In these two stories of Hemingway’s, the characters are in search

of something to hold on to, be it a love affair, travelling,

drinking, reading a book or stroking a cat, but all of these seem

unfulfilling and futile. The presented relationships are

infertile, fruitless not only on the literal level but

metaphorically speaking as well. In these situations no ray of

hope flickers on the horizon. Alienation prevents them from

expressing their love towards the other person, and a functional

relationship is unthinkable being devoid of communication.

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Works cited

Bannett, Warren. The Poor Kitty and the Pedrone and the Tortoise-shell Cat in

“Cat in the Rain”. University of Regina. Accessed 22nd May 2014. Available at

http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost

Felty, Darren. Spatial Confinement in Hemingway’s “Cat in the Rain”. Accessed

24th May 2014. Available at http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost

Fletcher, Mary Dell. Hemingway’s Hills like White Elephants. Northwestern

state University of Louisiana. Accessed 23rd May 2014. Available at

http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost

Hashmi, Nilofer. “Hills like White Elephants”: The Jilting of Jig. Accessed

23rd May 2014. Available http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost

Hemingway, Ernest. Cat in the Rain. The Collected Stories. Ed. James

Fenton. London: Everyman's Library, 1995. Print.

Hemingway, Ernest. Hills like White Elephants. The Collected Stories. Ed.

James Fenton. London: Everyman's Library, 1995. Print.

Renner, Stanley. Moving to the Girl’s Side in Hills like White Elephants.

Illinois State University. Accessed 23rd May 2014. Available at

http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost

Wyche, David. Letting the Air into a Relationship: Metaphorical Abortion in ‘Hill[s]

[like] White Elephants’. North Carolina State University. Accessed 22nd

May 2014. Available at http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost

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