I really enjoyed “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber.” Even though the characters were all annoying in their own way, I was definitely rooting for poor Francis the whole time. I thought it was interesting how Hemingway gave us insight into each of the characters and their distinct personalities, while also keeping things subtle. Margaret would ask Francis questions that seemed innocent, but as the reader, we knew that she was trying to rouse up his emotions and make him feel like less of a man. By keeping him this way, she had full control of the relationship. If Francis feels small and powerless, he will not dare take the risk of leaving his beautiful wife to find another. But, if she loses that control over him, Francis can steer himself away from her, which is hard for her to accept.
The way that Hemingway described the buffalo and the lion in such great detail allowed me to see the magnitude of the situation. If I encountered a wild animal like that, I too would be frightened. Francis was completely out of his pretty boy element when he went on this hunt. I believe that he knew what he was getting into but felt like he had something to prove.
Once Margaret cheated on Francis with Wilson, I was completely turned off by her, even more than I had been before. She came off as sneaky and just plain cruel. It was as if she would do anything to belittle Francis, and I have never seen a woman with that much disregard for a relationship. Women are usually the ones who treasure monogamous relationships, and she was acting out and ruining her credibility in my eyes.
When Francis was shot in the head, I first thought that the buffalo had died and that Hemingway was describing how the buffalo felt. But when I realized that Margaret was crying and holding the gun, I immediately assumed that she had killed Francis. Even though the story claims that it was an accident, I do not think for a second that she was aiming for the buffalo. She was not the type of woman to be courageous for Francis, and she was looking out for herself only. She was upset that Francis had changed into a confident man, ready to take on anything. She could not stand to see him leave her. Francis will never get the justice he deserves for losing his life so suddenly, but Margaret will see that Wilson is now in control of her and can turn on her any minute and say she murdered him.
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