For those few men who can handle an emancipated woman, there aren't many to choose from. This is a problem that is diminishing with time, as more empowered women raise more empowered girls and boys who are taught to respect them. However, for Jig in Hills Like White Elephants she lost her delirious innocence that made her so lovable. She knows that whatever happens, life will never be the same for her again; “'No, we can't. It's no longer ours." "It's ours." «No, it's not. And once they take it away from you, you'll never get it back” (Hemingway 79). Although the man thinks he is referring to the child, Jig is speaking of his innocence. The cost of love is much higher for a woman than for a man. John Updike's A&P story begins with strong female objectification by the protagonist, a young male clerk. He is distracted while "checking out" a customer by "checking out" a young customer. Updike shares the young man's internal monologue as he evaluates the client's straws, and then the cold cruelty as he evaluates the "witch" who stands before him asking him to do his job. The employee then refers to women as