Literary Analysis: The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber

“The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” is comprised of Hemingway’s prose style, plain words and structured syntax, leading the reader to a fast and emotional narration. This style is mixed with the point of view, focusing on the characters and the environment, linked directly to the narration. All of these elements are mixed together in a way that the story has the same frenetic and psychological variation of the hunting. The story, beginning at East Africa, does not last very much. The hunting provokes in Macomber a loss of his own self-respect, because of his inability to kill the lion, which brings more problems with his wife, Margot.

            Since Margot knows Francis is a coward, she seems to control and expose her moral superiority, keeping Macomber where she wants. The situation  changes when the bravery of Francis begins to emerge, which builds a problem for Margot, who loses her power over Macomber.

            There is an emotional intensity in this part of the narrative. The beginning and end of Francis Macomber’s life seems to be a contest, since he needs to achieve his own manhood by hunting. The contest is won by Margot though, exposing a dispute between man and wife.

            Manhood, symbolizing a kind of moral courage, is depicted in the narrative. The focus on Macomber, Margot and Wilson exposes expectations of social figures that must be followed: Macomber must be a good husband and brave; Margot, as a woman, needs to be lovely and, being Macomber's wife, need to love him as well; Wilson needs to have the eyesight and bravery of a professional hunter. However, this is not what the reader finds at first sight; Margot does not seem to be a good wife, and Macomber is a coward.

Margot is a wild symbol of a woman; She is not fragile but imbued of wildness and courage. “Margot was too beautiful for Macomber to divorce her and Macomber had too much money for Margot ever to leave him”, it is suggested in the story that Margot’s alienated feelings or her desire of Macomber’s money, which leads her to kill her own husband.

Francis Macomber enters into manhood with Wilson’s help. When hunting the buffalo, Macomber and Wilson leave Margot in the back of the car. Macomber then starts hunting fearlessly and happily -- getting into his happy life -- when he is killed by Margot.

This kind of women – a woman who denies characteristics as fragility and dependence from men – is related to an independence that may be found in most of Hemingway’s stories. Leslie Fiedler identifies this representation of woman as a style and writing tool to expose a rejection of the sentimental happy ending in relations of men and women.

 The symbolism present is essential to understand Macomber's murder – a man who does not assume his position may not be accepted by a female. Macomber was not able to kill the lion, the animal that symbolize strength and domination over other animals in the Savanna.

In fact, Macomber’s inability is the cause of his fear, which makes him a coward. But it is the hunting that starts the growing change in Macomber as well; The fear is transformed into courage, and when this courage finally reaches the top of his personality to be exposed in his actions, he is killed by Margot.

He dies when he is truly starting to live – that is what makes his life happy, but short. The life’s portrayal made from the scene seems to expose Macomber and Margot like caricatures of social figures, the wounded manhood represented by Macomber and the risen femininity fighting against each other. 

Nevertheless, Wilson is between them, with aspects that are found neither in Macomber nor Margot. Wilson is a brave hunter, he has good skills to hunt,  but he cannot define himself with, nor deal with women. His wisdom is limited to the hunting. He says women upset amounts to nothing. Strain on the nerves and one thing'n another. This exposition of manhood is also linked with the suggestion of his affair with Margot.

These three characters are the base to understand an issue that seems to imbue Hemingway’s work: the man and the death. All actions are played among objects that represent manhood and are linked to death – the death of the lion,  Macomber’s main issue. Macomber and Margot get into the nature, it is an opposition to the urban life that they were used to, forcing them to get into a primitive instinct and to get closer to the death.

In fact, these characteristics are not important alone; They are inside of the huge structure of the point of view and narrative, being articulated to get the reader into a emotional variation and shock.

The point of view is built by the third-person omniscient narrator, who may get closer to the characters or reveal important factors with a certain distance. The point of view, in this case, may even be built by the movements of the narration to an animal. When they were hunting, the point of view suddenly changes to the lion:“Then watching the object, not afraid, but hesitating before going down the bank to drink with such a thing opposite him, he saw a man figure detach itself from it […] solid bullet that bit his flank and ripped in sudden hot scalding nausea through his stomach”.

Getting the reader into Francis's thoughts by his third-person omniscient position, the narrator describes the events focusing on the actions and reactions of the characters as well. Hemingway uses deep changes of characters in the story, he mixes the story with a progressive and chronological narrative, he alternates the types of narrative, and he provokes different emotions in the reader.

The reader may experience the lion’s death and the hunting as well. By this chronological narrative, we may divide the story in three main parts:

1. The beginning of Francis Macomber’s Humiliation

2.  The negation of himself, trying to resolve his issues and daydreaming with a different situation for him.

3.  The rise of his manhood that is terribly interrupted by his wife.

These parts cause different effects in the reader who gets into Francis’s daydreaming. When the third part starts, the reader's emotional mood is also changed while suffering a shock when Margot kills Macomber.

The narrative shocks the reader in its end; It is like the same shot that hit Francis Macomber. The chronological structure leads the readers to be hit by this sudden change. This is a huge lapse in the reader’s hopes. Margot’s shot is, then, the main point in the story, which builds a climax is Macomber's transformation into manhood, with the anticlimax closing the narrative in an unexpected way.

 The reader’s emotion changes through the three parts of the story, making an emotional involvement with Francis Macomber, while having huge contrasts in emotional mood.  The shot gets the reader inside of contrasting feelings, like the opposition faced by Francis Macomber--his wishes and daydream versus the shock of reality by the shot.

Therefore, Hemingway builds the narrative chronology to follow the same steps Francis Macomber is going through, getting the reader into the same path, the opposition of daydreaming versus facing reality that is started by the shot. Francis Macomber has a short and happy life because he starts to live, but is killed in the best moment of his life. His death is a glad release of his overwhelmed living, but the reader is awakened by the shot and needs to face the real word.

Bibliography

FRIEDMAN, Norman. O ponto de vista na ficção, REVISTA USP, São Paulo, n.53

SCOFIELD, Martin. The Cambridge Introduction To The American Short Story. Cambridge Press, 2006.

WEEKS, Robert P. Hemingway: selection of critical essays. Printice-Hall, Inc. 1962