It is obvious from the beginning that Mr. and Mrs. Macomber are having problems with their relationship, but I never expected her to end up killing him. It is hard to tell if it was an accident or if she did it for the sole hatred of her husband. She is obviously torn up about it because Hemingway mentions that she is crying over him. However, Wilson makes much fun about the whole incident. He teases her as if it were a funny joke.
Something I did not understand about this story though, is why it was such a big deal that her husband was a coward against a lion. I understand that times were different then. Women expected certain things of their husbands and the same goes from husbands to their wives. I can even understand Mrs. Macomber to be upset that her husband was a coward in general life, but when facing a lion I feel as if it is perfectly fine to be a coward. It is a lion after all. Lions are huge and violent creatures.
My only thought is that maybe him being so afraid of the lion to the point of running away was the last straw for her. There are hints of previous unhappiness and troubles in their relationship so it is possible that this last act just sent her over the edge.
It was also very interesting that Macomber immediately knew that his wife had slept with Wilson when she came into the tent late. The way they spoke about how they had agreed that she would not do that this time proved that she had cheated on him several times before. Even Wilson picks up on the fact that this cannot be the first time that this has happened.
It is painfully obvious that this couple should not have been together. Neither party was happy, but both of them gained from being with the other. She gained money and he had a beautiful wife. It is sad that many relationships go back to this. That the only thing keeping people around are how they can use one another.
This story was interesting, but I honestly did not like it. It just left me getting angry at the different characters. It does show a pattern that our world tends to have however and I feel like Hemingway likes to add real world concepts into his writing.
Honestly, when I read this story I was thinking about how Hemingway's definition of manhood and courage are different than other people's. So it makes a sort of twisted sense that Mrs. Macomber goes and sleeps with Wilson after he kills the lion - he's a real man, and Francis isn't.
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