A common theme in much popular discussion is that the subject of death has been made invisible in modern society: Death, together with other uncomfortable topics, have been swept under the rug, so that life can be other and more joyful subjects. 

This is, however, a view that lacks in nuances, as most people in some way will be affected by loss. 

From the moment we are born, with each day we approach the moment of our own death. In the middle of life, we are in the ever-growing shadow of death. 

Ernest Hemingway’s iceberg technique meant that not everything was spelled out in writing. Most of the storyline exists below the surface, possible only to read in-between the lines. 

In the two novellas, The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber and The Snows of Kilimanjaro, otherwise unrelated, each story is about the brief moment at the end of two men’s lives. 

“The Short Happy Life…” was first published in the 1938 September issue of Cosmopolitan, concurrently with “The Snows…”. 

It tells the story of married couple Francis and Margot Macomber, who are on a big-game African safari, together with professional hunter Robert Wilson and his staff. 

Before the novella begins, there had been a moment when Francis had panicked after having a wounded lion charging at him, which had made him appear weak in the eyes of the others.

This had damaged the relationship between Francis and Robert, but also between Francis and Margot. Perhaps consequently, Margot decides to sleep with Robert the following night. 

The main theme in the story is the contrast between courage and fear, interlaced with sex, wealth, and death.

When Macomber showed fear, his wife turned to the hunter for intimacy (though it was always clear that she would never leave her wealthy husband). The second time Macomber was near an aggressive animal, it would lead to his death, as was foreshadowed throughout the brief story. 

“The Snows of Kilimanjaro” is also about an American couple is on safari in Africa. But this time the husband, Henry, has been infected by gangrene in his leg. 

Together with his wife Helen, he is waiting for the rescue plan from Nairobi that will bring him to a doctor, but he has already realized that the airplane won’t arrive on time, and that he will soon die. 

Helen is refusing to recognize this fact, and together, they spend these last moments between life and death talking about everything and nothing, going from hope to despair and back again to hope. 

The two short novels are beautiful depictions of death in the midst of life, or differently phrased, about the thin line between life and death, demonstrating how love, in various shapes, often is an integral part of human experiences.