Francis Macomber in The Short
Francis Macomber in The ShortFrancis Macomber - From Mouse to Man
One theme present in Ernest Hemingway's short story, "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber", is that the way a person views his life can change completely in one fulfilling moment, if only for an instant. This is a story of an "unhappy man's display of cowardice, his wife's retaliatory love affair, and his ultimate recovery of integrity as he bravely faces a charging buffalo" (Ed. Harris 205). Francis Macomber is a prominent American businessman with a beautiful, dominating wife who holds the control and power in their marriage. At the start of their safari trip to Africa, Francis Macomber is regarded as a coward only the endure the embarrassment from his own cowardliness during the hunt, the disrespect from his wife, as well as a feeling of weakness when compared to Robert Wilson, his safari leader. He regains his integrity and confidence when "he bravely faces a charging bull" only to have his "life cut short when his wife--fearful of her husband's newfound potency-fires a bullet through the back of his head" (Ed. Harris 205).
At the start of the safari, Francis Macomber must endure the embarrassment of his own cowardliness during the hunt. He is first presented in a "mock triumph", since he had only "half an hour before, been carried to his tent from the edge of the camp in triumph on the arms and shoulders of the cook, the personal boys, the skinner and the porters. The gun-bearers had taken no part in the demonstration" (Stallman 89) (Hemingway 1395). This is evident that Macomber has withdrawn from his prior hunt for a lion and has already been recognized as a coward in the eyes of the gun-bearers. They do not wish to pretend along with everyone else that Francis deserves praise for a lion that he supposedly shot. Macomber, however, does finally shoot a lion during his second outing with Wilson and his wife. Upon approaching the injured lion hiding in the tall grasses, "Macomber heard the blood-choked coughing grant, and saw the swishing rush in the grass. The next this he knew he was running; running wildly, in panic in the open, running towards the stream" (Hemingway 1406). Macomber does "what most sensible men would do if faced by a lion" and he runs, but his wife promptly criticizes him for what she sees as weakness in her eyes (O'Conner 232).
Another factor contributing to Francis Macomber's suffering self-esteem is that he must also withstand the constant disrespect from his own wife, Margot. She is the power in their marriage and refuses to let him show any type of influence in their relationship. Margot readily shows everyone around them how humiliated she is of her husband's actions even at the beginning of the safari when she shuns her husband's choice of drink. She...
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