The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber
In The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber and The Snows of Kilimanjaro Hemingway provides parallel stories that demonstrate the vulnerabilities of men that either destroy or affirm them. Each of these works echoes the other in that in Snows the protagonist dies alone in the bush of gangrene. He is a failed writer because he never had the nerve to utilize his talents. He dies with a stoic acceptance of his fate, while enjoying a view of the famous summit of Kilimanjaro unseen by any human. In Francis, Francis lacks the courage to kill a lion and is worried that he cannot satisfy his wife sexually. While he too will die, unlike Harry in Snows, Francis will affirm his masculinity and manhood beforehand. It is this difference between the protagonists that keeps the two stories from being a mirror-image of the other.
In Francis, Francis Macomber is a wealthy married man on Safari in Africa with his bitchy wife, Margot. Francis wounds a lion but flees in terror. His wife sleeps with their guide Wilson and Wilson views Macomber’s act as weak. In one exchange, Wilson tries to soothe Macomber’s wounded ego to no avail: “'Woman upset,’ said Wilson to the tall man. ‘Amounts to nothing. Strain on the nerves and one thing’n another.’” ‘No,’ said Macomber. ‘I suppose that I rate that for the rest of my life now,’” (Hemingway 3). Like Harry in Snows, Francis is aware of his vulnerabilities and fears. When he wounds a lion and is afraid to go after it in the woods, he admits to Wilson, “I’d like to...I’m just scared you, you know,” (Hemingway 14).
The difference between Harry and Francis is that Macomber will affirm his manhood and identity by overcoming his fears and killing a Buffalo. Even when he does, Margot’s eviscerating demeanor undermines the achievement, “It seemed very unfair to me, chasing t
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