The Lion Symbol Analysis

The lion, a symbol of courage and masculine prowess, is the first animal Francis Macomber encounters on his safari, and it is the animal that most terrifies him. Its roar, a powerful, unnerving, “deep-chested moaning,” shocks Macomber awake while he lies in his tent at night early on in the expedition. Macomber is a stereotypically weak, emasculated man; he is a cuckold, constantly undermined by his unfaithful wife and constrained by his upbringing to mannered meekness. The lion, then, throws Macomber’s inadequacy into stark relief. It is the animal’s disturbing roar that plunges Macomber into a state of paralyzing fear, which ultimately prevents him from killing the lion and leads to his embarrassment in front of his scornful wife, Margot, and the white hunter Robert Wilson. Wilson both seduces Margot and demonstrates temerity and aggressiveness while hunting the lion—becoming a paragon of staunch masculinity in the story, the “alpha male” and Macomber’s foil. Additionally, Hemingway specifically genders the lion, referring to it as a “he,” and describes in painstaking detail his muscular build and resistance to the hunters. Yet even as the lion makes Macomber’s cowardice all the more apparent, the animal also prompts Macomber to undergo a transformation. Humiliated by his own actions—contrasted with the lion’s boldness, bodily strength, and its majesty even in death—Macomber seeks out another opportunity to hunt, determined to prove himself a true man of courage. However, his attempts to refashion himself into a figure like Wilson, or the lion, lead to his death. Ultimately, as a symbol the lion helps readers to understand the tensions and contradictions that characterize masculinity. His fatal wounding, in spite of his courage, mirrors Macomber’s own, suggesting that power and bravery—though deemed fundamental to masculine character—can be futile.