Reflection on The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber

Yesterday evening, I decided to leave my home at the GrandMarc and go to Starbucks for a prime study environment. Usually I sit on my couch in the living room of my apartment but that simply would not be the case that evening because of the fowl stench of salmon looming in the atmosphere after my roommate decided to take a sudden interest in cooking.  We have now revoked her cooking rights after last evening’s disaster. I walked into Starbucks and I automatically felt warm and fuzzy, partially from the smell of coffee rather than salmon, and also from the jazzy music playing and the enticing study foods calling my name. Coffee and parfait in my hand, I sat down in a comfy chair and began reading Hemingway’s “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber.” The title itself was intriguing because, automatically we know that Francis Macomber will in fact die. The question taunting my mind was how, and knowing Hemingway, it will be what we least expect. Naturally, Hemingway commenced his short story with the iceberg effect. Well played. I was completely confused with the conflicting emotions concerning the lion: Margaret, obviously rooted in frustration over the lion predicament, Macomber slightly paranoid with his cowardly behavior and attempts to play it off, and Wilson, obviously embarrassed to be in Macomber’s presence.  In this short story, it seemed that Hemingway described in detail the appearances of the characters not to mention the mixture of emotions Macomber was experiencing throughout the story. This was rather refreshing because Hemingway typically uses brief, yet powerful sentences, with not much emphasis on description. My favorite line was on page 11, “the fear was still there like a cold slimy hollow in all the emptiness…” The motif of fear was prominent throughout the story, especially at the end. Macomber lived a fearful life, relying on his money, constantly struggling to break free from his fear by attempting to be something that he could never be such as wearing the uniform of a man on a Safari. It wasn’t until he actually did break free from his fearful life that we realize Margot’s fear, forcing her to kill her own husband. Knowing that her husband would leave her and unwilling to cope with that fact, Margot’s fear for the future consumes her and thus, transforms her husband into becoming the prey, the victim of the hunt. However the title still lingers, more specifically the word “Happy” to describe Macomber’s life. It was in his final moments that he was truly a man, and most likely the most comfortable he was with himself. His wife, all knowing that she could no longer take advantage of his money or rely on her beauty forces her to become the huntress.