I won't lie. I had only read this story once before, and I didn't have a clue what was going on in the story. I never bothered to look at it again until this class assignment.
Having read it again, I was very confused as to what was going on. What did "let the air in" mean? Why did the girl not care what happened to her and why did it seem like she was being pressured by her American companion? Perhaps this is what I get for having a caffeine crash at 11 p.m. Like the first time when I read the story, whenever the girl said the hills looked like white elephants, I couldn't help but picture a baby instead of white elephants.
Once I finished reading the story, I did a little research on the story to find out that the image of a baby popping in my head wasn't too far fetched. Thanks to my research, I learned that "white elephant" is actually an idiom for something valuable that is far too costly to maintain or keep. What is more costly than a baby?
This meant that when the girl was talking of white elephants, she was talking about the baby she knew she wanted but there was no way she could have it. The American was hellbent on the girl going through with the abortion so they can continue their life of traveling and drinking. The girl tired of this life and longs for something more simple and traditional. Alas, the American does not want that.
This would also explain why the girl said she didn't care what happened to her. Given the time frame of the story, abortions had to have been extremely risky during that time. She was willing to risk her health and happiness in order to keep her companion happy.
I read the story one more time after researching and felt incredibly heartbroken for the girl. The man thinks that the baby will be too much of a burden for them and so he subtly pressures her to abort it so they can continue their fairy tale lifestyle, while the girls longs for the simple life, and she's the one making all the sacrifices for their happiness.
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