Depiction of Women in Selected Works of Ernest Hemingway
Depiction of Women in Selected Works of Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway was one of the greatest American writers, but he was also one of the worst in depicting life and women. Carlos Baker believes that the stories of Ernest Hemingway, particularly The Short Happy Life Of Francis Macomber and The Snows Of Kilimanjaro, are centered on women, alcohol, money, and ambition. In both of these stories, Hemingway portrays the wife either as a “bitch” in character or was considered to be a bitch by the husband. The woman is also seen as smart and challenged the male's ego. The women in these stories are seen either by a male character or by the husband as controlling and manipulative. In Hemingway’s stories, Hills Like White Elephants, Up in Michigan, and A Canary For One, Hemingway depicts the female characters as weak. He makes them seem stupid and ignorant.
In The Snows Of Kilimanjaro, Harry and his wife, Helen are on safari at the bottom of the volcano in Africa. Harry has scratched his leg and not taken care of it, causing gangrene to infect it. He seems to hate his wife, and says that he never loved her. He married her for her money, but does not like her for the power it gave her. Harry is dying and knows that he does not have much time left. While waiting for a plane to take them to civilization he thinks about his past experiences, and wished that he would have written about them, instead of marrying Helen for her money.
The women in these two stories are not fully characterized. Helen a simple woman who is a “good” woman while Margot Macomber is presented as “bad”. Both women are seen as smart and able to learn how to shoot and survive like a man.
The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber tells the story of a young, rich, beautiful, and unhappily married couple who goes on a safari in hopes of getting rid of their boredom and hopefully make their hometown newspapers. Francis Macomber is a "coward" who can't shoot animals or control his wife. His wife Margot is a "bitch" who can not stay out of other men's beds or control herself.
Helen and Margot are both portrayed as the killers of their husbands. Margot is seen as...