The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber

Much of Ernest Hemingway’s writing reflects his passion for hunting and fishing. His 1952 novella, The Old Man and the Sea, captures the obsession and thrill of an old man’s pursuit of an enormous fish. His 1935 novel, Green Hills of Africa, details his safari in 1933 with his wife, Pauline. “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” is one of his many short stories in which big-game hunting plays a large role.

Just as the characters in “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” manage to hunt and kill a lion and other large game, Hemingway was a big-game hunter. During his 10-month safari in Africa, Hemingway accumulated an extensive collection of animal horns and heads (“Hemingway Adventure: Africa Safari”). His hunting experiences inspired and informed his writing, and influential newspapers and magazines frequently reported on his adventures and his marriages; these elements of his life are echoed in the story.

Throughout “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” the hired huntsman, Wilson, is referred to as the “white hunter,” a name given to hunters of European descent who made their money off big-game hunting in Africa. In the 20th century, big-game hunting was a popular pastime among the upper class in the West. White hunters were often seen as figures of admiration, bravery, and experience. While big-game hunting in Africa is regulated by numerous laws and is controversial in the 21st century, these constraints were less common in Hemingway’s day. Big-game hunting was generally viewed as a sport for people with wealth and status and, therefore, an aspirational hobby.

Hemingway depicts the Macombers, who are preoccupied with their own status, as examples of the rich Americans who dabble in the sport for reasons of reputation and prestige. The husband reflects on the way society columnists glamorize their marriage and the "romance" of their safari adventures but also repeatedly report on the marriage's struggles. Both the hunt and their private life become fodder for entertainment and speculation. Wilson, as a true hunter, silently condemns the visitors' superficiality and privilege. For Macomber, who is never sunburned and is dressed in his new clothes as if he were costumed to playact at a safari, this African "adventure" is designed to support the image of privilege and superiority.

Hemingway, who is often depicted as a hypermasculine figure due to his preoccupation with topics such as hunting, bullfighting, hard drinking, and boxing, explores the natures of masculinity and femininity in “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber.” Wilson views Macomber as weak, a “bloody coward” whose face would “stay adolescent until it became middle-aged” (119). In Wilson’s view, the man's failure to confront the wounded lion made him a coward and, thus, unmasculine.

In contrast, Wilson views American women as unfeminine, “the hardest in the world,” even as “their men have softened or gone to pieces nervously” (119). Later, after Margot shoots her husband, Wilson asks, “Why didn’t you poison him? That’s what they do in England” (143). He seems less surprised by her killing her husband than by the violent means she chooses to do so. Their relationship subverts the era's expectations for marriages among the elite, in which men were expected to be strong and powerful while women were expected to remain passive and domestic, focusing on the family's status and children while turning a blind eye to male infidelity.