Margaret: Guilty or Guiltless?

At the conclusion of "The Short and Happy Life of Francis Macomber", we found Macomber as an entirely new person- brave, reckless, and dare-devilish. After a precipitate hunt for buffalo, Macomber had found this inner part of him that he thought he never had before. And for once, he was a happy man.
Unfortunately for him, a bullet from Margaret's gun slammed into the side of his head during the heat of the hunt when the last final wounded buffalo was cornered in a bush. Needless to say, Macomber died by Margaret's hand. The question is, did Margaret do this intentionally?
Mentioned earlier in the text, the relationship between Margaret and Macomber had always been tenuous. The only thing that kept the "happy" relationship going was Macomber's money and Margaret's looks. Macomber knew Margaret wasn't that pretty that she could run off, and likewise were the thoughts of Margaret on Macomber. This discovery of new found confidence during the hunt wiped all of Macomber's insecurities away, and what would likely follow this hunt if he hadn't died would be that he would leave Margaret behind to find a more faithful wife, or just live his new reckless life in bliss. This evidence is confirmed when Wilson clearly states that Macomber would've left her anyways since he had changed when he attempts to calm the distraught Margaret.
Margaret would also not like this change because she liked having the upper hand in their relationship, always teasing her husband for the mistakes and weaknesses in his character. When Macomber had "come of age", Margaret had lost this advantage in this relationship that she so very much enjoyed.
All this evidence points to one direction: Margaret had intentionally killed Macomber. She used the confusion of the hunt as a perfect opportunity to remove Macomber and to come clean as well. From killing Macomber, she would benefit by taking his money and be free from his rich grasp. There would be no way officials could extract the thoughts that raced through her head that day, and the only person that would know for sure of the actual events that occurred would be the person in question herself: Margaret.

6-Word Stories

There once was a legend about the great Ernest Hemingway. He was challenged at a bar and asked if he could tell the shortest story. He took upon that challenge and did it in six words. What he wrote: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."


1) Bring supplies: knife, flashlight, and non-perishables.

2) The fool went without proper headgear.

3) In honor of our fallen rescuer.

4) And our second contestant was ambushed.

5) Look out, something from above you!

6) He overcame his fears and jumped.