The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber

by Ernest Hemingway

"The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" is a short story by Ernest Hemingway. Set in Africa, it was published in the September 1936 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine concurrently with "The Snows of Kilimanjaro". The story was eventually adapted to the screen as the Zoltan Korda film The Macomber Affair (1947).

Genres: Short Stories, Classics, Fiction, American, School, Read For School, Literature

33 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1936

About the author

Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Best known for an economical, understated style that significantly influenced later 20th-century writers, he is often romanticized for his adventurous lifestyle, and outspoken and blunt public image. Most of Hemingway's works were published between the mid-1920s and mid-1950s, including seven novels, six short-story collections and two non-fiction works. His writings have become classics of American literature; he was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature, while three of his novels, four short-story collections and three nonfiction works were published posthumously.
Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school, he spent six months as a cub reporter for The Kansas City Star before enlisting in the Red Cross. He served as an ambulance driver on the Italian Front in World War I and was seriously wounded in 1918. His wartime experiences formed the basis for his 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms. He married Hadley Richardson in 1921, the first of four wives. They moved to Paris where he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star and fell under the influence of the modernist writers and artists of the 1920s' "Lost Generation" expatriate community. His debut novel The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926.
He divorced Richardson in 1927 and married Pauline Pfeiffer. They divorced after he returned from the Spanish Civil War, where he had worked as a journalist and which formed the basis for his 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940. He and Gellhorn separated after he met Mary Welsh Hemingway in London during World War II. Hemingway was present with Allied troops as a journalist at the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris. He maintained permanent residences in Key West, Florida, in the 1930s and in Cuba in the 1940s and 1950s. On a 1954 trip to Africa, he was seriously injured in two plane accidents on successive days, leaving him in pain and ill health for much of the rest of his life. In 1959, he bought a house in Ketchum, Idaho, where, on July 2, 1961 (a couple weeks before his 62nd birthday), he killed himself using one of his shotguns.

Reviews

[Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

What to say without giving too much away? A story about a man’s transformation towards courage and a woman who did not want to see him move in that direction. A short and powerful read. One of Hemingway’s best.

[Flo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lion, symbol of courage and a significant connection between a man and his wife. I was not too fond of any of the characters of this story but I have to admit something: I don't remember being so repelled by a female character since Cinderella's stepmother. Well, in the name of debatable maturity, I am pretty sure I felt that with other fictional people but I can't remember at the moment. And now I can't stop thinking about it. I need another female character that I really disliked. Great, this is going to bug me. This is taking a weird turn and now I am writing as my mind dictates. Yeah. This is how babbling is created. Ursula, Maleficent, Evil Queen, Cruella de Vil... I have been possessed by Walt Disney now, stop it. Wait. Disney. Ducks. Daisy. Daisy Buchanan. Done.

This short story started a bit slow and on top of it all, dealing with the barbaric activity of hunting; to kill for the sake of killing. However, as I kept reading, human nature and its inherent conflicts came to surface. Every piece started to fall into the right place—at least, from my humble point of view—and the twist I was warned about before, was a sudden shake that induced the collapse of this initially dull universe. It confirmed all suspicious. (Hemingway deserves patience; I am still trying to adjust.)

This is a story about many things, but it mostly involves the loss of cowardice and control. Hemingway described fear in the most evocative way possible. His minimal amount of words to portray emotions and such vividness between the lines gradually captivated me. What has started tiresome to me became a pulsating prose that revealed a story infused with fear, contempt and the desire of controlling everything. Everyone.
Until the last minute.
Accidentally, voluntarily. Will or chance. I wouldn't know.

A story about the act of breaking ties with manipulation and the rage that such happiness precipitates. All elements that, inevitably, pave the way to the core of tragedy.



Nov 8, 15
* Also on my blog.

[am · Rating 4 out of 5]

”That was a pretty thing to do,” he said in a toneless voice. “He would have left you too.”

GASP

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of Hemingway's longer short stories, "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" contains all his trademarks: men who use violence to mask their insecurities, an assertive woman described in demon-like terms, and lots of blood and guns and gore. If you can look past its misogyny and bloodshed, this story does serve as well-written entertainment. The plot moves at an exciting pace and Hemingway creates a vivid portrayal of the characters' interpersonal and intrapersonal tensions. On a deeper level, "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" inspires many Hemingway-related questions. Why did he have so much hatred for powerful women, while at the same time feeling so attracted to them? Does Hemingway's portrayal of male characters deconstruct or perpetuate toxic masculinity? Can we praise courage without glorifying the violence Hemingway so often associates with it? Overall, I do not really recommend this piece, but if you want a gruesome short story with some interesting, unlikable characters, you might like "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber."

[Enrique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reseña de "La corta y feliz vida de Francis Macomber". Relectura de mejores cuentos de la narrativa, segunda tanda 2/10
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Aquí hago trampa con la reseña, ya que tenía decidido las 5* antes de releerlo; diría que lo tenía decidido hace 12 o 14 años cuando lo leí y me quedé impactado. Prosa sencilla al estilo inconfundible sintético de Hemingway, pero con un contenido contundente por completo. No nos da un segundo de tregua el autor: acción, lucha interior, lucha en plena África negra. Creo que es lo que más me ha gustado de Hemingway de todo lo que le llevo leído.

Ayy esos elementos tan conflictivos en las parejas como son la necesidad de demostrar la masculinidad, los celos, la atracción fuera de la pareja, la femineidad y la forma vernos entre géneros, los hombres a las mujeres y las mujeres a los hombres, en muchas ocasiones no viendo la belleza física y sí otros elementos más valiosos: la seguridad, la inteligencia, la templanza, la fuerza incluso.

“¿Cómo reacciona una mujer cuando descubre que su marido es un cobarde? Es terriblemente cruel, pero todas lo son. Ellas mandan y, por supuesto, quien manda hay veces que tiene que ser cruel.”
 
Vaya radiografía hace el bueno de Hemingway de sus paisanos norteamericanos de clase media: ostentosos, presumidos, timoratos, infantiles y sobre todo cobardes. Y en medio de todo ello está ese cazador imperturbable y decidido, varonil...yo en ese cazador veo de forma irremediable al bueno de Hemingway, con una vida de constante búsqueda de la acción y de lo desconocido (España, Cuba, África, Italia...), mostrando signos de un carácter poco asimilable al escritor norteamericano, bien educado y correcto.
 
Muy muy interesante.

[Min · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crisp. Fast. Flies by. Engaging. Addictive. Unfathomably, indescribably Hemingway. Simply Hemingway.
Hemingway.
1. This particular story strongly highlights Hemingway's strength as a writer. His crisp clean sentences clearly come from a well founded early career in journalism. Many times as I read the hunting scenes, I was reminded of a National Geographic or BBC earth documentary. Just the right amount of adrenaline, description, and pacing in each scene, strengthened with the proper use of sentences that run long distances quickly. For instance:

"Macomber killed it with a very creditable shot that knocked the buck down at a good two hundred yards and sent the herd off bounding wildly and leaping over one another's backs in long, leg-drawn-up leaps as unbelievable and as float- ing as those one makes sometimes in dreams."

"Then watching the object, not afraid, but hesitating before going down the bank to drink with such a thing oppo- site him, he saw a man figure detach itself from it and he turned his heavy head and swung away toward the cover of the trees as he heard a cracking crash and felt the slam of a 30-06 220-grain solid bullet that bit his flank and ripped in sudden hot scalding nausea through his stomach."

2. A very conventional view on men and women that even with the assumed masculinity and femininity, sets a clear straight picture of the characters.
3. Elimination of commas as an effective way of pacing. Hemingway makes frequent usage of 'and' yet it does not disturb my reading. Rather, it allows the story to read nicely, and proves efficient in controlling story pacing.

+Reminds me of The Martian Chronicles or The Veldt. Hemingway and Bradbury seem to paint men with the same brushes.
Looking forward to more Hemingway as always.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it? Not so much. Admire it? Heck yeah.

I'm sure everyone else has spoken about the poor animals & the honor of shooting them on foot, and the poor native 'boys,' and the effect of blood-lust on testosterone, particularly on the not quite manly enough American....

But it seems most reviewers here assume that the woman is hateful, evil, despicable... and so she is... but does nobody understand enough about how the world work(ed)(s) to feel *any* sympathy for her? Or even any admiration for her courage? Or any realization that neither man is worthy of her? Does nobody find the men at least as despicable, and as admirable, and as pitiable?

No, I'm not going to spell it all out for you. (Re-)read the story yourself to see how these are all authentic, complex people.

Btw, the only other Hemingway I've liked is Old Man and the Sea. My son liked this, but not that novella. Hm.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is not a book or story I have not liked of Ernest Hemingway! His writing style is so easy to fall into and forget about everything around you. That is my kind of a reading atmosphere.

The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber was predictable just by its title; but, there is plenty of suspense to decipher exactly how it was to end. In this story, you are in Africa on a safari with Mr. Wilson, Mr. and Mrs. Macomber, and the gun-bearers.

Mr. Hemingway’s writing style is not complex, but can be mind bending. There are subtle pieces in this story related to the colors black and white, aromas of the landscape and psychological twists. For some reason, this story reminded me of his Men without Women.

Very good story!

[Jonfaith · Rating 4 out of 5]

She’s damn cruel but they’re all cruel. They govern, of course, and to govern one has to be cruel sometimes. Still, I’ve seen enough of their damn terrorism.

I was shocked by this story. I believe a synopsis appears in the Ken Burns documentary, but I guess I didn't remember and wasn't expecting the denouement. All the shudder features of the time are on display, most apparent is the casual imperial entitlement, with the bloodlust as masculine affirmation hovering in the background.

The depictions of the Africa are amazing even though the human squabbles are firmly foregrounded. I didn't care about the gender politics or the treatment of natives as much as I was in awe of the depictions of dew and sunsets. I guess I am old.

[نازنینا · Rating 4 out of 5]

بالاخره داستان‌ کوتاه‌های آقای همینگوی رو شروع کردم، اون هم با چه شاهکاری! نفسم حبس شده!

[عدنان العبار · Rating 5 out of 5]

A safari trip is an amazing experience to be had in reading The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber. To be part of the death and the life—the hunt, in its anticipation and its valour—of the creatures of the safari. To go through the rites of manhood, and face our lives with courage. Ah, the glory of being alive, and fighting for it! Hemingway tells us all that we need to know about the struggle of living, and how to live with honour.

[Federico DN · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oopsie!.

Francis Macomber, along with his wife Margot and renowned safari guide Robert Wilson, are hunting alongside the African wilderness. Their leisure trip taking a small dip when Francis shamelessly and cowardly runs away from a lion, and Margot starts eyeing their self-assured safari leader with craving eyes.

Bah. Not short enough, although not the worst I've read by Hemingway either. A supposedly coming of age story. Meh. Not a bad idea on the whole, but Hemingway's magic touch sure always helps making it unshine.



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PERSONAL NOTE :
[1936] [33p] [Fiction] [2.5] [Not Recommendable]
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★★☆☆☆ The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories <--

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¡Upsi!.

Francis Macomber, junto con su esposa Margot y el renombrado guía de safaris Robert Wilson, cazan en la naturaleza africana. Su viaje de placer dando un pequeño tumbo cuando Francis, vergonzosa y cobardemente, huye de un león, y Margot comienza a mirar a su muy seguro líder del safari con ojos ansiosos.

Meh. No lo suficientemente corto, pero tampoco es lo peor que he leído de Hemingway. Una supuesta historia sobre alcanzar la mayoría de edad. Bah. No es una mala idea en general, auqnue el toque mágico de Hemingway siempre ayuda a que no brille.



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NOTA PERSONAL :
[1936] [33p] [Ficción] [2.5] [No Recomendable]
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[Alexy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s hard for me to read Hemingway as a “woman” without having to deal with the cultural baggage that comes along with Reading Hemingway. Was he a misogynist? Did he hate women? Surely he couldn’t have hated women when he wrote such complex depictions of them? Are they complex? Is it more the scholarship done in seeing their humanity beyond the written misogyny and casual violence that has rehabilitated his women-hating image? The questions go round and round in circles, and I honestly have no clue what to make of them. Maybe if i encountered Hemingway in a vacuum, outside of all the cultural hoopla I could read him as he is and form completely unbiased opinions on his work.

That said, I did like this short story. I liked the tension Hemingway creates in the relationships between Margot, Macomber and Wilson. I particularly found myself puzzling over Wilson and Margot’s passive-aggressive back and forth. The world Hemingway builds in the few short pages feels complete and solid, and it felt like a kind of Jumanji effect, where I was sucked into this world I know nothing about and I was coming along for the ride with these three unpleasant white characters. That the characters are deeply unlikeable goes without saying. The fun of the story for me was more in terms of trying to puzzle out each character’s motivations and failings, and how this in turn informs their interactions with each other, and perhaps themselves.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

“There was no one to tell he was afraid, nor to be afraid with him …”

A story about a white man going on a hunt in Africa and experiencing, what do we say, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Horrible people doing horrible things, as is Hemingway’s specialty. But the writing is sublime; enthralling. You can’t tear your eyes away.

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber by Ernest Hemingway



When we write about a book, we are supposed to judge it on its literary merits and not delve into how we feel about the writer, the breakfast we had before writing and such trivialities.

However, I am an amateur reviewer, who does this for the fun of it, with the remote possibility in mind that my daughter or possible future grandchildren might be curious one day to see what their ancestor thought about one book or another.

And this is a kind of a pretext to write what was on my mind at the time of reading or simply when writing about the book.

In the case of Hemingway, my feelings are mixed: I admire the writer and have enjoyed, in various degrees, the books I have read, but I dislike the hunter and the man who loved bull fighting.

It has been explained to me that a bull has much more dignity when he is killed in front of thousands of people, than when an electric shock, or whatever they use nowadays to put to death an animal.

My belief is that many years from now, our descendants will look upon us with about the same attitude we have towards slave owners: these were the times, but the cruelty cannot be denied.

The fact that we still eat and hunt animals will change. Maybe in one hundred years, but it will.



The story of Francis Macomber revolves around a safari and an accident. I will not go into the details of the accident, which I am not sure was not a planned accident, or the result of a suppressed desire, but neither the description of the hunting of wild animals is very much to my taste.

There are human relationships which are affected during the hunt, but damn them I would say: the animals they killed suffered more that those cruel humans, who change affinities, or even lovers.

I must assume the prejudice I bring here and admit that I may simply be unable to get it: I would never travel thousands of miles to kill a few beautiful animals. Hemingway, Roosevelt did.

In and around my house there are nine animals, so I do not understand the elation Macomber feels after he kills buffaloes.

[Luke Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's amazing how well Hemingway could develop a story in such a short, succinct manner. I really enjoyed this. The ending was awesome.

[Aušra Urbanavičiūtė · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't particularly like any of the main characters of the story. Not to say that they were badly written but they were simply unpleasant characters. That being said, the story developed in such a small amount of pages was thrilling and captivating until the final sentence

[Kate Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Hemingway at his most misogynistic cuz wOMeN DoN’T shOOt sO GOoD.

Jokes aside, I don’t think this is the story from which to judge Hemingway‘s opinion of women. This story is about courage and cowardice and I love everything about it.

[Lacivard Mammadova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Desəm ki, Heminqueydən ilk kitabımdır?) İnsan təbiəti bu az səhifələrə çox ətraflı qeyd edilib. Müəllifə yenidən qayıdacam.

[Yazlina Saduri · Rating 5 out of 5]

By God. That was overwhelmingly sickening. That damned witch. Wilson thought "How should a woman act when she discovers her husband is a bloody coward? She’s damn cruel but they’re all cruel. They govern, of course, and to govern one has to be cruel sometimes. Still, I’ve seen enough of their damn terrorism."

The author's detailing of the emotions, the thoughts of man, woman, majestic lion, Buffalo, I thought is nothing short of superb. Maybe too good that I too carry too deep loathing. Towards the woman of course. And that makes me, what? A woman hater? Why can't I hate Wilson? He's every bit a swine himself, damned good hunter who takes advantage at every shread of opportunity. So why don't I carry contempt towards him? Dunno. Francis Macomber? Such a tragedy. All because of the woman he has been married to for 11 years.

Wilson was right again thinking looking at the Macombers, "If a four-letter man marries a five-letter woman, he was thinking, what number of letters would their children be?". The buffalo downing by Francis and Francis downing by Margot. Damned sickening.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short story has stayed with me since I read it at school when I was I think 15 or 16 and has always been lurking in the back of my mind and surfacing at unexpected times, particularly the character Francis Macomber. 30+ years later I reread this story having come across it by chance and can understand why it has always been there. This is an incredible story. There is not much to like about it but it is brilliant in it's perfection of ugly detail.

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

*read for class*

[Bryson Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the first Hemingway stories I've ever read and I have to say it was quite good. A short easy read that has a shocking ending that I should have seen coming but for some reason didn't..

[Liam James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't see it coming; I should've, but then again, neither did Wilson, who's pretty sharp, nor Macomber himself, who, just became "a fire eater" as I believe was called. Nevertheless, it was a shock to the head, pun intended, but more importantly is the moral lesson, the underlying message as it were, the essence, yes the "so what." And it all reads as a warning; be vigilant with them. Never let your guard down. It's funny though; I read this years ago and could've sworn the Memsahib threatened Wilson at the end, like as if his intentions were to tell the authorities the truth of it all but then she dangled the little infraction of his what with his cruisin' in that jeep after the buff, but no, no such thing. Wilson just sort of swallowed the disgust and maybe the bit of pain for what happened to his brand new friend. Nevertheless, he still told her off, in that subtle, fierce way.

[Sonia MM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es una narración breve sobre una cacería en África de un matrimonio estadounidense de clase media y un cazador contratado.

Es la historia de un matrimonio en crisis con infidelidades incluidas, de cobardía, inmadurez y con una resolución un tanto sorprendente.

[Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hemingway casually packs many much deeper thoughts into his story.

[LZF · Rating 5 out of 5]

El viaje más interesante en la vida de Francis Macomber le permitió redimirse ante sí mismo pero el precio que pagó a cambio lo llevó a la muerte.
Hemingway combina en este relato el poder de la naturaleza frente al carácter irresoluto de sus personajes, dejando descubrir quienes son en realidad.
En este caso, fue necesario que un cobarde hiciera frente a un León salvaje durante un safari para permitirle encarar su destino, vencer sus temores y, de paso, demostrar su verdadera valía ante una ambiciosa mujer. No obstante, esa felicidad tuvo que ser pagada por Macomber con na muerte valiente pero hasta cierto punto innecesaria.

[pelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Misogynist males and cheating wife? That pretty much explains Hemingway and this story didn’t surprise me a bit. Even though at the end Francis gains his courage through killing, it is Margot, his wife, who put an end to his transformation- meaning that whatever you do, a woman is always there to hinder you. Thanks Hemingway.

[Michael Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Women....

[Robert Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do u ever get the sneaking suspicion that Ernest had a really mean girlfriend once