Mr. and Mrs. Elliot | Analysis

This study guide will help you analyze the text “Mr. and Mrs. Elliot” by Ernest Hemingway. We will show you examples of elements in the text that will be relevant for your analysis. In these notes, we will focus on the summary, structure, characters, setting, narrator and point of view, language, theme and message, and we will help you put the text into perspective.

Presentation of the text

Title: “Mr. and Mrs. Elliot”
Author: Ernest Hemingway
Published in: In Our Time
Date of Publication: 1924
Genre: Short story

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) is a famous American writer whose literature has greatly influenced the 20^th century. Hemingway invented the Iceberg Theory, a concept which involves depicting only part of the story (the tip of the iceberg) and deliberately omitting details (the base of the iceberg). Overall, the themes of war, love, and deprivation of masculinity are prevalent in Hemingway’s literature.

Further help

Do you want additional help with analysis of short stories? See our general guide for more:

Engelsk

Short story analysis

I denne vejledning får du Studienets hjælp til at analysere noveller (short stories) i engelsk.

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Title

The title of the story refers to the main characters, Mr. and Mrs. Elliot. They are the protagonists of the story and the ones whom the narrator focuses on and follows throughout their journeys. The title is partly ironic because it presents Mr. and Mrs. Elliot as a single entity when, in fact, the two of them are very different and the story concludes that they are better off alone than together.