Macomber

Looking back over the stories we read this semester, my hands down favorite is “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber.” I’ve always admired Hemingway for portraying his characters in a very realistic way, but this time he certainly mixed it up. While his other stories tend to be focused on dramatic things like abortion, rape, and questioning one’s sexuality, the character’s actions in dealing with these things are relatively normal. There are no huge fits of rage, passionate declarations, or anything like that. The American man and girl in “Hills Like White Elephants” hardly speak about it, much less have a screaming match. No one ends up weeping or leaving.

“The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” begins with that similar pattern. There is a big problem the couple must overcome (in this case it is infidelity) and they go about it in a reasonable way until the end, which is when she shoots him! That action is exponentially more dramatic than any other one seen in Hemingway’s stories. The story begins with subtle (and explicit) cattiness and passive aggressiveness, like the way she calls him “darling” even after saying something terrible. I was shocked that Hemingway chose such an ending when all the other stories ended rather quietly.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the way Hemingway portrayed Mrs. Macomber. She was such a witch! It was as though she reveled in kicking her husband when he was down. I, personally, had a lot of sympathy for Francis. He seemed like he wanted to work things out, which made me hate Mrs. Macomber all the more.

Overall, the character development of Mrs. Macomber and her husband was fascinating. I enjoyed seeing them reverse roles as he took back control in the relationship, causing her to be the scared one.