Hypertext Project
(An
excerpt from page 22 of "The Short Happy Life of Francis
Macomber")
All in all they were known
as a comparatively happily married couple,
one of those whose disruption is often rumored but never occurs, and as the
society columnist put it, they were adding more than a spice of adventure to their much envied and ever-enduring Romance by a Safari in what was known as Darkest
Africa until the Martin Johnsons lighted it on so many silver screens where
they were pursuing Old Simba the
lion, the buffalo, Tembo the elephant
and as well collecting specimens for the Museum of Natural History. This same columnist had reported them on the verge at least three times in the
past and they had been. But they always
made it up. They had a sound
basis of union. Margot
was too beautiful for Macomber to divorce her and Macomber had too much money
for Margot ever to leave him.
Ya right! Maybe if soap opera standards are
applied. Return to passage.
The reader might be wondering why all these words are
in italics. Sorry, I can’t help ya
there! Return to passage
The critic James Gray Watson
from the University of Tulsa wrote an interesting article about this very
phrase entitled "A Sound Basis of Union"
Structural and Thematic Balance In "The Short Happy Life of Francis
Macomber". The article suggests that
because this excerpt lies structurally at the center of the novel, it is of
primary importance. And it leaves a
"wake" that balances or influences the reader’s opinions throughout the
remainder of the book. Return
to passage
This story was the subject of my
paper, and I wrote the following introduction about it. . .
Will
American men and women ever become members of a society that prides itself on
its unwavering moral center? Will
American men and women ever be able to open their eyes to a world unhampered
with the cloud of relativism? Any
notion of this time and its future manifestation is being challenged by
ideologues, liberals and their moral ineptitude; in short, we, the mainstream
conservatives, are being challenged.
Middle class, small town America is losing its ethos, its character, its
purity. And in its place resides the
superficial form of morality known as relativism. Times are certainly changing.
But, thankfully, some people of letters have validated the necessity of
our own conservative counter-revolution---our own adherence to, our own
paradoxically counter-cultural acceptance of what Russel Kirk calls "the
permanent things." Writers, these men
of letters, who have throughout history served as the mouthpiece for society,
can be called upon to elucidate the extent of our present moral dilemma. A proper evaluation and comparison of
Hemingway’s "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" reveals the all too
pervasive and disturbing trend of post-structuralist, relativistic morality,
and points the reader closer and closer to the absolutely undeniable validity
of his conservative and moral worldview.
As far as discursive commentary goes. . .
This passage lies at the
center of the novel and is very important in terms of shaping reader opinions
about the main characters and the "moral center" or lack thereof. This passage suggests to me that Hemingway’s
morality is relativistic. "They were a comparatively
happily married couple." WHAT? They had
a "sound basis of union." WHAT? These comments
are not meant to be sarcastic. They
are Hemingwayesque statements of fact, pure and simple. This is the way it is. But these statements express the
post-structuralist worldview. Return to passage