I think that Margaret became very bitter and quiet towards the end of the story, but did not mean to kill Francis. I do not think that she is capable of killing a human. She seems to be very arrogant and shallow, qualities not usually found in a murderer. Margaret also seemed genuinely upset after she shot Francis.
Throughout the story, she enjoys watching Wilson and Francis hunt, because he is afraid of killing the lion, and runs away.However, once she realizes that he is becoming more brave, she says “Just because you chased some helpless animals in a motor car doesn't mean you can talk like heros.” She then says “You’ve gotten awfully brave,awfully suddenly.” Hemingway describes her as saying it “contemptuously , but the contempt in her voice was not secure. She was very afraid of something.” I think that she was afraid that Francis would become brave enough to leave her,which would leave her with nothing. Francis leaving Margaret was something he previously would not have done, as shown by the quote “If he had been better with women she would probably have started to worry about him getting another new, beautiful wife.” Even though Margaret has the motive to kill Francis, she already had a good income from her modeling, and would probably be able to live off of what she earned
When Margaret shoots Francis, the narrator says “Mrs.Macomber, in the car, had shot the buffalo with the 6.5 Mannlicher, as it seemed about to gore Macomber.” If she wanted Francis dead, she would most likely have let him be killed by the buffalo, or as Wilson suggested, poison him. I think that she was trying to save Francis from the buffalo, and missed. After she shot Francis, she is “crying hysterically”, and seems upset with Wilson for accusing her of murdering Francis.
