“The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” review based n Gender and Society View

 “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” is a short story made by Ernest Hemingway and published in Cosmopolitan magazine 1936. This is such an a good story telling about three main characters: Francis Macomber, Margareth Macomber (Margot), and Robert Wilson told with good plot flowing from the beginning to the ending.

This story tells about the trip of three hunters : Francis Macomber (The wealthy man learning to hunt) and his wife, Margaret Macomber, and Robert Wilson (The Professional Hunter) in Africa to hunt some animal such as: lions, buffaloes, rhinos, etc. Francis Macomber, the amateur hunter learning, tries to put out his guts on hunting guided by Robert Wilson. Their targets are lions, buffaloes,and other big animals making them proud having shot and killed them.

The rising act starts when Francis Macomber, falling asleep after a long hunting, wakes up and realizes that his wife is not beside him. He starts to think negatively about her. A moment after he wakes up, Margot comes back with his smile and greets his husband happily. They are taken in such long argumentative moment about where she has been along he sleeps and Francis Macomber thinks that Robert Wilson and his wife have a secret behind him, and it makes him hate Robert Wilson so much. He is jealous, maybe.

After that, he meets Robert Wilson to go hunting buffaloes and rhinos by a car. In the place, Francois Macomber hunts better than one moment of hunting before, even better than Robert Wilson, but Robert Wilson doesn’t want to admit it. Francois Macomber feels that he never feel happy like that because he is not afraid anymore. A man will be happy when he knows that he is fully a man; brave, no afraid of anything, and looks manly. He is not afraid of lions, buffaloes, and some animal he is afraid before hunting. He feels that he finally has a happy life to enjoy. But, a moment when big buffaloes’ attack interrupts it. The situation is chaos and unorganized. Everyone tries to kill the buffalos, including Francis Macomber and Robert Wilson. Suddenly, Margaret Macomber, who doesn’t have enough skill to hunt some animals, tries to help the men shooting the animal but her rifle seems she wants to shot Francis Macomber. She pulls the trigger and shoots Francis Macomber about two inches up and little to one side of the base of his skull. Francis Macomber falls down, but Robert Wilson doesn’t want to take him, he leaves him. Margareth Macomber cries and feels guilty of the incident, but Robert Wilson is happy because he is attracted to Margot actually. Based on the synopsis, I think this story is an interesting story with many social problems described in the story, such as: the identity of men, relationship between men and women related to “Hunting”, and the images of marriage written by Ernest hemingway in “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber”.

This story actually concern about “A man having to be a man”. In this story, Hemingway compares 2 kinds of men, Francis Macomber and Robert Wilson. Francis Macomber explained by Hemingway as a coward; a  man who runs away when hunting and also a man who is not responsible to a women, even to his wife. Meanwhile, there is a character of Robert Wilson who is described  as a real man; loves hunting, responsible, and strong. In this story, I think Hemingway wants to tell the reader about the social view of diversion of gender. In social view, a real man should act like a man; from the crown to the sole. A man should have bravery, consistency, his own principles and ideas of life, power (especially to women), responsibility, and pride as his base to his life. Hemingway probably wants to say that the pressure is actually given to men’ shoulders because when a man is failed to act as a man (according social view), their value would be changed. The acceptance of a man in society depends on how he acts and how he shows his action to problems. A man actually doesn’t run when he gets a problem, like Francis Macomber does when hunting. He runs away when a lion chases him. As a real man, Robert Wilson thinks that it is an embarrassing moment for men races. Robert Wilson thinks that if he were Francis Macomber, he will shoot the lion or at least he tries to kill the lion, not running away, though he could die in that situation. “A coward”, a word describing Francis Macomber perfectly. It is cruel, indeed, but that’s the fact happened in the society. You will be judged that you are like women or something when your action doesn’t show your identity as a man, even in other cases, some men are bullied because he is failed to act as a man. It makes a real scar to men’ pride sometimes. However, Robert Wilson can be a representative of the society when looking a man, acting like Francis Macomber. He has no power to his life. He seems that he doesn’t have bases of his life, so his life will never break down. Society will judge a man having characteristics like Francis Macomber with every word, such as: coward, rabbit, or maybe pussy. It is irony, however, I think when a wealthy man, like Francis Macomber having everything in his side, has no power to protect what he has; wife, pride, identity, and his life also. That’s why when he feels that he is already brave to face the life, he is so happy because bravery is a real happiness for Francis Macomber. Bravery which makes society think again about him and his life. Beautiful wife and wealthy man is a quite good couple I think, but Francis Macomber Misses it. He loses everything cause of his fears. Men should have not had any fears in his life. They show their bravery in making decisions, fighting, and hunting to show that they have fulfilled the initiation of society.

When reading the story, I actually concern about the opinion of Robert Wilson to Margaret Macomber which also can be stated as the opinion of Ernest Hemingway of Women.

“They are, he thought, the hardest in the world; the hardest, the cruelest, the most predatory and the most attractive and their men have softened or gone to pieces nervously as they have hardened”.

I have 2 opinions about this sentence actually. In one hand, I think it is still contradictory if we say that women are predator, even the cruelest predator, because in the society there is one value that only men who hunt. It is still believed for most cultural people that only men who hunt although it is an old-school opinion which the validity for this century is still contradictable. Maybe, in the 19th century, it is still valid if we say that men hunt and women don’t hunt because the old value of society still existed that men work outside home and women work inside home. Yet, the value has been changed and moved. Both women and men now work outside home without telling it is appropriate or not. It also makes women change, they hunt too. This is the reason why I say that society value is still contradictory because in the 20th century, women and men are all together hunting. Men are hunting for their ideal women (beautiful, smart, independent, etc) while women are also hunting for the glory, Independence, equality, and their ideal men (good-looking, rich, high-classed society, etc). But, in the other hands, men’ value is higher than womens’ in society, that’s why I think it is inappropriate if we use the phrase “the most predatory” because for a long time, we usually say that the predator in the society is men. Men is created as the predator. Men is modified to hunt, not to be hunt in every situation. They are created to hunt money, women, power, position, pride, and everything that can make their value higher. Though women now also hunt, they are modified in the same position as men, which have to hunt in entire their life. Women, while they have not married yet and still young, still have energy to hunt what they want, but men always hunt, no matter how old they are and how weak they are. Men is like lion sometimes. They have to hunt, or they will be hunt That’s why I think the word “predator” is appropriate to men.

Marriage is such a sacred thing that happens once in entire life. Marriage should be done by a couple loving each other, knowing each other, and strengthening each other whatever happens to them. Marriage could be one of the topics described by Ernest Hemingway in the story “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber. In this story, Francis Macomber has a beautiful life named Margaret Macomber which have married for eleven years. If we relate to the fact, eleven years marriage should have had a great base to keep their commitment of their marriage. They should respect each other, more than the first day of their marriage.  Yet, this situation doesn’t happen to Francis Macomber and Margot. They may think that Marriage is their way to get what they want. Francis Macomber needs a beautiful woman, like Margaret to be his “doll” to take his level of society higher because in the society, there is no lucky man if they have a beautiful wife and great treasure in his account. Beside that, Margot also needs a kind of man like Francis Macomber. As a woman, who have everything to buy, Francis Macomber, the rich man is one way to get what he wants (expensive clothes, good trips, etc) which makes her value also get higher because she is valued as most successful woman because she has married with the right man, rich man. One opinion which usually appears when society find this situation “They should be happy each other”. Hemingway may want to tell the reader about this social value that a perfect marriage filled by perfect couple having everything is not always ended by happy ending. There is a kind of unsolved problem that society do not know. Society only judge people from what they have seen, that’s why there is stereotype. And this situation is classified as stereotype “a marriage filled with rich man and beautiful woman would be a happy marriage”. By the story, I think Hemingway wants to break 2 stereotypes : “a marriage always filled by a couple who loves each other” and “A perfect marriage filled by rich man and beautiful woman (perfect couple) will end with happy ending”. For the first one, it have been proved that a marriage is not always talking about love, marriage can be the way to get something, like Francis and Margot. The second one is proved that even society judge it as “Perfect Marriage”, the marriage of Francis and Margot ends by an incident of Francis’ death.

Social Value and Literary work is hardly to separate because there is a kind of relationship which insists them to be united. The problem in society is like a great treasures for some authors, and literary works inspire some people in the society to make them as “Agent of Change” because they hope, by reading the story and analyzing the meaning, the value can be change and moved, even the stereotypes. “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” is filled with some analytical problems of society by the author, Ernest Hemingway. Gender, marriage, social value and acceptance, and masculinity vs femininity are some point provided by the story. He may have desire to change what happens in the society, the values, and also the stereotypes, which sometimes suffer the person bounded by the stereotypes.