Finding Contentment in Mr. and Mrs. Elliot Ernest Hemingway's "Mr. and Mrs. Elliot" ultimately leaves us with a paradox. From its first line, the story defines Hubert and Cornelia's marriage as a marriage of failure: failure to conceive a child, failure to communicate, failure to have good sexual relations. Indeed, the story's opening image seems to be the perfect metaphor for marriage as a whole: "Mr. and Mrs. Elliot have been trying very hard to have a baby." They tried as often as Mrs. Elliot could stand it” (161). The Elliots' marriage is one of unfulfilled desire: you have to try as hard as you can "bear it", but never succeed. However, the last line of the story states that "they were all very happy." How can we reconcile the failures of this marriage with contentment? One tactic might be to claim that Hemingway was being cute when he said they were all pretty happy, and the reader should infer that they were actually pretty unhappy. While I recognize that Hemingway had a penchant for euphemisms and paradox, I think that the Elliots are, in a very real sense, content with the state their marriage ultimately finds itself in, despite their unfulfilled desires. To know why, we must first clarify who "they" are at the end of the story. It's not just Hubert and Cornelia, it also includes Cornelia's girlfriend from the Boston tearoom. The presence of this friend has a notable effect on Mrs. Elliot upon his arrival: Cornelia becomes “much brighter” and the two utter “many good cries together” (163). This friend also begins to type Mr. Elliot's poetry for him, because she is "very neat and efficient and seems to enjoy it" (164). Cornelia used to type her manuscripts, but she made mistakes,...... middle of paper ......s poetry, Cornelia prefers the company of her girlfriend, and despite her best efforts, they can't have a baby. But the couple eventually finds a kind of contentment that, while not marital bliss, is a passable substitute. Cornelia, a typical wife, wants someone she can be emotionally close to; she finds this in her girlfriend. Hubert, a typical husband, wants to have a baby; in history he cannot do this, but finds a substitute act of creation in his poetry. This way, both get what they want, but not necessarily in the way they might have expected during the marriage. In "Mr. and Mrs. Elliot," Hemingway seems to suggest that "quite happy," while different from "very happy," is nevertheless quite happy. Works Cited Hemingway, Ernest. "Mr. and Mrs. Eliot." The news. New York: Scribner Pocket Fiction, 1995.