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Ernest Hemingway

The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber

Ernest Hemingway -- the Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber

The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber (Hemingway 5-28) and Ernest Hemingway's biography (Hulse) illustrate several key aspects of Ernest Hemingway's his personality. Hemingway's upbringing and observations of the characters in this short story reveal his attitudes about men, women and their relationships.

If The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber is a true indication of Ernest Hemingway's worldview, he believed in a male-centered world in which notions of cowardice and manliness were tied to violence and bravery, in which women were desirable but contemptible, and in which male-female relationships should be controlled by men

A brief biography of Hemingway's life sheds some light on his worldview. Ernest Hemingway was raised by a mother who exposed him to the Arts and by a doctor-father who was a rugged man and taught Hemingway about weapons, the outdoors and the importance of fearing nothing (Hulse). Drawn to War despite his physical limitations (particularly his eyesight), Hemingway was an ambulance driver and a canteen worker in the thick of battle, receiving severe wounds and a silver medal of valor. His personal life involved many women, including four wives and other lovers. His second marriage was reportedly a marriage for money in which he was financially supported by his wife's money while he wrote. His third marriage was to a woman who had her own career, with which Hemingway could not cope. All four of his marriages ended due to his affairs with other women. He eventually committed suicide by self-inflicted gunshot, as did his father before him (Hulse).

If this short story is a true indication of Hemingway's attitude, then Hemingway's worldview was male-centered. Hemingway's concept of "Manhood" is central, violent and limited in The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber. The short story is told from the viewpoints of the two men: Wilson, who is the experienced hunter and manly man; Francis Macomber, Wilson's client who paid the hunter to take Macomber and his wife on safari. The sole woman in the story, Margot Macomber, is marginalized and observed. Through the observations, thoughts and feelings of Wilson and Macomber, Hemingway shows what he regards as contemptible, acceptable and admirable in a man.

If this short story is a true indication of Hemingway's attitude, then Hemingway believed that cowardice and manliness were tied to violence and bravery. In Hemingway's universe, a man who runs from a lion that he has deliberately wounded and is now charging at him is a coward (Hemingway 6). That coward is "miserably ashamed" of his craven behavior (Hemingway 11). Being a "bloody coward," he is barely tolerated by the manly-man hunter (Hemingway 8); however, the coward relies on the manly man to keep his cowardice a secret (Hemingway 8) and to be the guiding manly man of the group. In exchange, the coward barely tolerates the fact that the manly man had sex with the coward's wife (Hemingway 21), which the coward deserves for not controlling his wife (Hemingway 21). The coward also receives the contempt of his wife, whom he cannot control and who flatly calls him a coward (Hemingway 19). Even "the boys" who assist on safari silently know that the coward is a coward (Hemingway 7). The coward remains in this miserable state but knows that he can "fix it up" by killing buffalo on the next day of the safari (Hemingway 8). Fortunately for the coward, but unfortunately for the buffalo who do not have a vehicle and are not armed with hunting rifles, the coward grows to manhood on the next day by illegally chasing buffalo in a vehicle (Hemingway 23) and shooting them to death (Hemingway 24). After achieving manhood by slaughtering the buffalo, the former coward feels "a wild unreasonable happiness that he had never known before" (Hemingway 25). What's more, Wilson and Margot realize that Macomber is now a manly man: Wilson has "seen men come of age before," now sees it in Macomber, who is a "ruddy fire- eater" with "no bloody fear" and Wilson is moved by it (Hemingway 25-26); Margot also sees the change in Macomber (Hemingway 26). Now, at last a man, Macomber can be fearless, control his wife and end the cuckoldry that he endured as a coward.

In contrast to the coward is the manly man hunter, Wilson. Unlike Macomber, Wilson is a manly man throughout the story. Admired by lesser men like Macomber, adored by women like Margot, who know that he is a brave man and gush about his hunting prowess (Hemingway 26), Wilson typically has sex with the women on safari and likes them well enough when they are around him but otherwise despises them (Hemingway 21). It is through Wilson's eyes that we receive Hemingway's assessment of men and women, particularly American men and women.

If this short story is a true indication of Hemingway's attitude, then Hemingway believed that women are desirable but contemptible. Hemingway's assessment of women, particularly American women like Margot, is at once admiring and scornful. Wilson admires Margot's beauty (Hemingway 10) and has sex with her. However, women, particularly American women: are easily upset (Hemingway 7), are bitches (Hemingway 19), are the hard, cruelest and most predatory, making their men soft (Hemingway 9), can blackmail you if they have something on you (Hemingway 24), are "a damned nuisance on safari" (Hemingway 21), and will murder cowards who become manly men because the women can no longer control them (Hemingway 28). If Margot is truly representative of Hemingway's beliefs about women, he evidently was fascinated by women but also intensely disliked women, particularly American women.