How we cite our quotes:
Quote #1
"I'll have a gimlet too. I need something," Macomber's wife said. (1.4).
After the scene out in the field, everyone needs a drink. That's what you do when you are a Hemingway character, after all – you have gin and lime juice before lunch. Having a cocktail is easier than having a real conversation, especially one with your husband.
Quote #2
She was an extremely handsome and well kept woman of the beauty and social position which had, five years before, commanded five thousand dollars as the price of endorsing, with photographs, a beauty product which she had never used. She had been married to Francis Macomber for eleven years. (1.13).
Hemingway breaks down the marriage in two sentences: they both get something out of it – but she doesn't have as much as she used to. Looks like we're headed for rough waters, then.
Quote #3
"Let's not talk about the lion," she said. (1.20)
Like stereotypical married couples, the Macombers want to avoid the tough stuff. In this case, they want to avoid Macomber's failure to shoot a lion point-blank with no experience. Of course, we know that the lion is not just a lion. It's a big ugly embarrassing problem because it represents a greater failing on Macomber's part: the dude is a wimp.