This short story kind of confused me at first. Since it was short, I decided to reread it to get the full meaning. I knew that the man was trying to constantly reassure his girlfriend that getting some sort of operation was her choice and that she didn't need to go through with it if she didn't want to, but she continually says that she's fine and that she just doesn't want to talk about it anymore. I assumed this operation was an abortion, and I looked it up just to be sure, and although obviously never said in the story, it is implied, and that many girls have done it before. To me, the girl in this story just seems extremely depressed to be in this situation altogether. I definitely think she wants to keep the baby but I think that she just feels the pressure from almost everyone around her, and imagines if she would be able to have everything she wants in life if she does end up deciding to not go through with the abortion. Her remarking that the hills look like white elephants are her trying to make a situation something that it isn't, and maybe that it's possible for her to keep it.
Personally, I found the story enjoyable just because I know what the girl is talking about when she is looking at the mountains. I think Ernest Hemingway made a wise choice by placing this short story in Spain, much like his book For Whom the Bell Tolls. I went to Barcelona my junior year of high school for spring break and the mountains were extremely breathtaking, and something about the Spanish landscape really puts you in another place. Being somewhere foreign gives you new perspectives and makes you think about things differently. The girl may be experiencing this in the short story in being such a wonderful place.
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