Hawthorne vs. Hemingway: Theme, Symbol, and Moral Voice

Introduction: A Shared Theme, Divergent Treatments

Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Birthmark" and Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" are two stories with a similar theme and a dissimilar treatment of that theme. Each depicts a relationship between a man and a woman — a relationship in which the man pressures the woman into doing something that goes against her natural instinct, but which she ultimately agrees to in order to please him. In "The Birthmark," the issue is the removal of a birthmark on the woman's face. In "Hills Like White Elephants," the issue is the removal of a baby growing in the woman's womb — that is, an abortion. In both stories, the woman is reluctant to comply but eventually submits, in spite of seeming to possess full awareness of the negative repercussions that will follow.

Essentially, the removal represented in both stories is a removal of life itself, as bittersweet as it may be. It is the insistence of the man — bothered by the burden placed before him, whether an imperfection on his wife's face in "The Birthmark" or a child in "Hills Like White Elephants" — that prompts him to reject the life that has been presented to him. But whereas Hawthorne treats the theme in a moral and allegorical manner, presenting a story that should serve as a morality tale or a warning against impetuously seeking perfection in a world that cannot provide it, Hemingway treats the theme without commentary. Through the lens of realism, Hemingway presents a heartbreaking scene in which a man casually pressures a woman into getting an abortion so that they can be free of the responsibility of parenthood. While Hawthorne's story functions as a cautionary tale, Hemingway's story is a sad reflection that, on the surface, delivers no judgment — but between the lines drips with the tragedy of a heart being repressed.

Authorial Voice and Moral Commentary

Although the themes are similar in the two stories, Hawthorne uses authorial intrusion to provide a third-person perspective that frames his story in a moralistic manner. For instance, Hawthorne states in the opening paragraph: "We know not whether Aylmer possessed this degree of faith in man's ultimate control over Nature. He had devoted himself, however, too unreservedly to scientific studies ever to be weaned from them by any second passion" (1). This bit of authorial commentary clearly distinguishes Hawthorne's story from Hemingway's. Hawthorne does not hesitate to put his own thoughts on the subject into words. He is conscious of having a point to make, and in the lines quoted above it is apparent that in his view the man — Aylmer — is one who believes in his own power to transform humanity through the scientific arts.

It is much different in Hemingway's story. Hemingway provides a description of the setting and a minimalist depiction of the main characters, but he lets their words do the talking for him. Their interaction is full of irony as they dance around the unmentionable subject that is troubling them both. Hemingway does not even give his characters names, but that in no way diminishes the reader's ability to see and understand them. Hemingway describes the setting in the first line of the story: "The hills across the valley of the Ebro were long and white" (1). The girl, looking at them and thinking of her own pregnant condition and the fact that her partner — an American man — wants an abortion, says to him that the hills "look like white elephants" (Hemingway 1). He replies that he has never seen one before, and she says acidly, "No, you wouldn't have" (Hemingway 1).

A white elephant is an expensive gift that is considered troublesome or burdensome. It is a metaphor for the baby — a gift of life that the man sees as a problem to be eliminated. His refusal even to acknowledge the comparison is why she responds with contempt. She dislikes his callous attitude, but — like Georgiana in Hawthorne's story — she is unable to resist the man's suggestions. Both women want to make the men happy, even though they sense that what both men want is, in some sense, deadly. Hemingway never explicitly states that contempt colors the woman's tone, but her words are enough to suggest it. She herself seems to be aware of it and tries to change the subject, not wishing to dwell on the ugliness of the matter when they are already committed to their course — but she cannot help it. This is not unlike Georgiana's attempt to learn the specifics of the procedure to remove the birthmark: she wants to understand the precise risks and seems to want her husband to acknowledge those risks to himself, even though she is already committed to submitting to the procedure.

Symbolism and the Central Conflict

The fact that Hemingway uses symbolism in his story — the hills like white elephants serving as a metaphorical device to frame the central conflict that goes unnamed — makes it similar in another way to Hawthorne's story, which also relies heavily on symbolism. In Hawthorne's story, the birthmark is a symbol of humankind's imperfection, whether spiritual, physical, or both. Aylmer's attempt to remove that imperfection is akin to society's broader attempt to create a world that is perfect and happy. Hawthorne recognizes that human society is fundamentally flawed and will remain so because it consists of people with a fallen human nature. Although this idea of a fallen human nature caused by Original Sin is not as explicitly stated in "The Birthmark" as it is in his longer works — such as The Scarlet Letter or The Marble Faun — the implicit understanding is present throughout. Hawthorne remarks that the birthmark, which resembles a crimson hand on Georgiana's cheek, carries a special meaning:

The crimson hand expressed the ineludible gripe in which mortality clutches the highest and purest of earthly mould, degrading them into kindred with the lowest, and even with the very brutes, like whom their visible frames return to dust. In this manner, selecting it as the symbol of his wife's liability to sin, sorrow, decay, and death, Aylmer's somber imagination was not long in rendering the birthmark a frightful object, causing him more trouble and horror than ever Georgiana's beauty, whether of soul or sense, had given him delight. (Hawthorne 3)

In other words, Aylmer sees the birthmark as a representation of his wife's fallen human nature — her tendency to sin — and he cannot abide it. He wants it gone and is willing to put his wife in danger of death to achieve his purpose. She, seeing his unhappiness, agrees to his scheme, and dies. Hawthorne thus concludes that it is better to endure imperfections and to work with grace rather than with the scientific arts to bear one's burdens.

Conclusion: Two Authors, One Tragic Theme

Hemingway and Hawthorne both tell stories that share a similar theme. Each focuses on the insistence of a man to remove something that he sees as problematic. The woman, bending to the man's will, submits — but there is a cost to be paid. Georgiana dies, and Hawthorne provides a clear moral lesson to the reader. The woman's fate in Hemingway's story is suggested in her own words, but dissimilarly from Hawthorne, Hemingway's approach is to withhold moral judgment entirely and to allow the characters to present the heartache in their own voices. Both stories ultimately affirm that the removal of life — whether symbolized by a birthmark or represented literally by an unborn child — carries consequences that no amount of optimism or scientific confidence can undo.

Works Cited

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Birth-Mark."

Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills Like White Elephants."