Courage and Dominance: An Analysis of “The Short Happy Life Of Francis Macomber”
In Ernest Hemingway’s short story “The short happy life of Francis Macomber”, we are presented to problems some couples face. One of them is infidelity, although the one guilty of infidelity in this story does not face the consequences you normally would face if you were unfaithful to your spouse. Another problem or theme in this short story is gender roles, the wife wants a husband who is rich, strong and brave. The husband on the other hand just wants a beautiful wife, and maybe also a faithful one too. Initially you get the impression that they are really living up to the expectations, but if you read on you will find out that everything just isn’t like it should be.
The couple in this story are named Francis Macomber and Margot
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Francis does not dare shoot a lion, and therefore Wilson, the safari guide, has to do it himself. Not only does it make Francis feel devastated, but when he tries to console himself by placing his hand on his wife’s hand, she removes her hand and later commits an even more hurtful deed: “While they sat there his wife had reached forward and put her hand on Wilson’s shoulder. He turned and she had leaned forward over the low seat and kissed him on the mouth”. You would think that this might stop here, but no, for Margot this is just the start. When they return to the camp, while Francis Macomber is sleeping in the tent, and having bad dreams, what do you think his wife is doing? Well, she is sleeping with Wilson in his tent. And she is not doing it because she is attracted to Wilson, but because she wants to hurt and damage Francis’ self-esteem. When she comes back in to the couple’s tent, Francis says to her that she is a ”bitch”, and she replies by saying: “Well, you’re a coward”. You might get the impression that she wants him to become courageous, but then again you are dead