Hemingway, Ernest. "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber".
Summary
- Francis Macomber, aged thirty-five, an American, is on a shooting trip in Africa
- he shows himself publicly to be a coward: on wounding a lion, he panics and runs away from the beast which must be finally killed by their guide Robert Wilson
- Francis makes a fool out of himself in the eyes of his wife, Margaret, but he knows that she will never desert him because of his money
- Margaret seems to be enchanted by Wilson, and Francis believes she cheats him with Wilson
- Francis wounds a buffalo and the beast chases him: he gets suddenly very brave, but his wife is afraid and shoots at the buffalo from the car (which is not allowed)
- Francis is killed by the bull
- Wilson approaches Margaret in a way suggesting that Francis's death was no accident
- Margaret ceases to be the strongest one, now it is Wilson who masters the situation
Analysis
- Francis, originally a coward, becomes a man for a short time
- Francis's mastering wife fails to come to terms with the new condition
- suggests that women only want strong men and that strength is best manifested in hunting
Basics
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Author
Hemingway, Ernest. (1899 - 1961). -
Full Title
"The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber". -
First Published
In: Cosmopolitan. NY: 1936. -
Form
Short story.
Works Cited
Hemingway, Ernest. "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber". (1936). In: The Collected Stories. London: The Random House, 1995.