text: David Gilmour points out that the bead curtain has an even more specific symbolism. When Jig takes hold of two strands, the American believes that she views them as a rosary, giving a clue to Jig being Catholic. Gilmour goes on to state that any leap to thinking of Spain, Catholicism, and the abortion as connected ideas is a stretch and if Jig were praying, she would most likely be praying to turn back time so that she may not be entangled with the American. This belief is supported when she states, while holding the two strands, that she wants things to be as they were before. In contrast, Gary Elliott writes that the beaded curtain and its similarity to a rosary lends insight to the girl’s reluctance to go through with the abortion and is almost certainly indicative of her Catholic background. He goes on to say that while the curtain is a physical barrier between the two, it is really her religion, symbolized by the beads, that separates them.
  Dialogue
  "They look like white elephants," she said.
  "I've never seen one," the man drank his beer.
  "No, you wouldn't have."
  "I might have," the man said. "Just because you say I wouldn't have doesn't prove anything."
  The girl looked at the bead curtain. "They've painted something on it," she said. "What does it say?"
  "Anis del Toro. It's a drink."