The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber

“The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” is a short story by American author Ernest Hemingway that was first published in Cosmopolitan in 1936. It explores themes of power and dominance, courage and cowardice, and the nature of masculinity. The story details a hunting party and love triangle in which a husband, a wife, and their hired huntsman struggle for dominance and power over one another. This guide references the collection The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories by Ernest Hemingway, published in 1995 by Scribner.

The story opens with a wealthy American couple, Francis and Margot Macomber, and their hired huntsman, Robert Wilson, drinking cocktails in the dining tent during an African safari. As is common in Hemingway's works, there is dramatic tension in the exposition due to an unspoken event. After the Macombers, Wilson, and the gun-bearers return to camp with a dead lion, the servants who had remained at camp congratulate the husband, assuming he was the successful hunter. However, the gun-bearers, who know what really happened, refrain from celebrating.

Margot sits drinking cocktails and observes the differences between Wilson and her husband. Wilson is sunburned, and his clothes are dirty. Macomber, however, is not sunburned; he wears the same kind of safari clothes as Wilson, but his are new. Margot suggests that Wilson wear his hat to keep the sun from turning his face red. He doesn’t comply and tells her to drink her cocktail. Margot tells Wilson that her husband’s face is never red. Macomber jokes that it is today, and his wife retorts that she's the red-faced one. She starts crying and leaves the tent.

Wilson tries to reassure Macomber that there’s nothing for him to be ashamed of, and they should forget what happened. However, he feels that his wife will never let this go. The servants begin acting strangely. Unaware that they realize what happened, Macomber asks Wilson if the two men can keep what happened a secret. Wilson assures him of his professionalism and confidentiality but already knows the news is starting to spread. He notices how adolescent and unmanly Macomber’s face is, but he reassures him that no client’s secrets ever get out and agrees to take him hunting again the next morning.

Having finished crying, Margot returns to the dining tent. She remarks that Wilson is the game hunter, and it doesn’t matter if her husband isn’t good at hunting lions. Wilson tells her they’re going hunting again in the morning, and she insists on going along. Macomber killed the eland they are served for lunch. Margot asks if they’re dangerous animals. Understanding her inference that he’s a coward, Macomber snaps at her.

After lunch, Macomber and Wilson go hunting without Margot. He shoots well, and the men enjoy themselves. Macomber’s confidence is building, but he's still upset that his wife witnessed his cowardice. Wilson encourages him to move on. 

That night, Macomber lies on his cot, remembering what happened earlier that morning with the lion. He, his wife, Wilson, and the gun-bearers went into the wilderness to hunt a lion he had heard roaring the night before. Macomber shoots the lion but fails to kill him, and the animal runs into the tall grass to hide. Macomber becomes afraid and doesn’t want to go into the tall grass to finish the animal off, but Wilson insists that they do so; otherwise, the wounded animal will suffer or attack someone else. Wilson goes back to the car to tell Margot to be patient while her husband works up the courage to finish off the lion. The men go in after it, but as soon as Macomber sees the grass move, he runs away, screaming. The lion jumps out after him, and Wilson kills it. Margot sees her husband run away and is embarrassed by his cowardice. She refuses to acknowledge him but leans forward and kisses Wilson on the mouth.

Macomber continues to reflect on this shameful moment and on his marriage. He tries to reassure himself that Margot will never leave him, even if he did show himself to be a coward, because he has money. He falls asleep for a while, but when he wakes up in the middle of the night, his wife is gone. When she returns two hours later, her husband demands to know where she was. Margot refuses to tell him the truth, insisting she’s too sleepy to talk. Macomber knows she had sex with Wilson.

After a tense argument over breakfast, Wilson, the Macombers, and the gun-bearers go hunting. When they come across three buffalo. Wilson tells Macomber not to shoot from the car. They get out and hit two of them. When the third buffalo runs away, they chase him in the car. Wilson and Macomber get out and shoot him, and Wilson compliments Macomber’s shooting. Macomber approaches the injured animal and kills it. The two men bond over the killing. Macomber, who “in his life had never felt so good” (137), is transformed.

The men return to the car, where Margot is amazed at the change in her husband. Wilson tells them chasing the buffalo in the car to hunt them is illegal, so they shouldn’t mention it to anyone. At minimum, he’ll lose his license if anyone finds out. This pleases Macomber, who tells Wilson his wife now has an advantage over him. Her new power gratifies Margot. Wilson again reflects on what terrible people the Macombers are and changes the subject by pointing out that a gun-bearer fell out of the car while they were chasing the buffalo.

The gun-bearer catches up with the hunting party and tells them a buffalo is injured and hiding in the bush. Margot is delighted. Macomber is eager to finish off the buffalo and wants to try going after another lion. His newfound courage unsettles Margot, but Wilson is proud that Macomber became a man because of their hunting trip.

Wilson and Macomber—who is no longer afraid—approach the hiding buffalo while Margot waits in the car. The animal charges at Macomber, who stands his ground, ready to shoot. Margot stands up in the car and shoots in the direction of the buffalo, hitting her husband in the head instead. Wilson covers the man’s head with a handkerchief and walks over to the car. He presumes that Margot intentionally killed her husband, who would have abandoned her. She repeatedly asks him to “stop” but does not refute his theory, and he begins making plans to ensure that the shooting is viewed as accidental, pointing out that this would be less complicated if she had just used poison.