“The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber”

Vocabulary from the story:

• Solids – bullets?
• Gimlet – a cocktail made of gin or vodka and lime juice
• Quid – British pound: the basic unit of money in Great Britain and Northern Ireland; equal to 100 pence
• Birching – Striking with a light wooden rod or bundle of twigs, traditionally from the birch tree.
• Memsahib - European married lady

This story indeed shows a short happy moment in Mr. Macomber’s life just before his wife snatches it away from him. I wouldn’t consider this to be his life although it may seem like he has finally gained life from his newfound confidence. He actually has had a very sad life. His beautiful wife is only interested in him for his money and he has no confidence to stand up to her even though she cheats on him and bosses him around constantly. 

I found when Mrs. Macomber’s shot Francis it very surprising not only to the reader but also to her. Whenever she would disagree or get angry or embarrassed by Francis she would lash out by cheating on him or being rude, actions that are not necessarily final and will fade with time. Her rage that was caused by Francis’s new confidence blindly led her to lash out but this time her actions were final. That is probably why she was crying. She probably didn’t mean to kill him but she meant to do some kind of revenge just not something as final as death. She is a jealous, self-involved woman that couldn’t stand for her husband to be happy or escape from her. 

I find the role of the professional hunter with them to be rather interesting. He has such a blunt and simple point of view that gives an interesting perspective to the story. This is just another hunting excursion to him so he doesn’t seem as affected by all the events that unfold. He handles the death of Francis so easily and even has the guts to chide Mrs. Macomber after the fact. He seems to just take things as they come and not hold grudges which makes the story less depressing.

I think the lion incident in this story is blown out of proportion. Mrs. Macomber is so bent out of shape about her husband being scared of a full grown lion and believes him to be a coward. Although it is a little embarrassing to be caught running from the lion while another man shoots it down I do not think that makes him a coward. I would be scared of that lion too! I’m sure Mrs. Macomber would be also but she didn’t have to deal with actually facing down the lion so she keeps a cool disposition toward her husband and severely judges him for being human and having rational fears.