The Whole World Lies Open before You!
In the 1890s, it was still uncommon for female missionaries to work alone in the field. At home, the members of the mission had difficulties imagining a woman in the traditional, heroic role of the missionary, and the use of women as preachers was a hotly debated question in missionary circles as a whole. The female missionary not only challenged the views of suitable female behaviour in the society of the 1890s, but she also challenged, in the eyes of many, what a woman was allowed to do according to the Bible. In this essay, I will discuss the behaviour of the female missionaries against this background of either active resistance or suspicion. I use examples from the missionary field most attractive to women: China - the country where 400 million heathens stumbled in darkness.
There were two ways in which these pioneers could behave: "A humble sister" plays down or keeps silent about the things that might provoke the contemporary view of women. In her letters home she does not mention the possible dangers a woman could encounter in China; sex is another banned topic. Others present themselves as combatants in the fight against heathendom and stress the adventures they have faced. These women soldiers were hard-working, too, and keen to stress the fruits of their labours, building up lifelong projects, like Klara Hall, who in 1896 opened a home for "abandoned girls".
The essay aIso analyses how the missionaries, together with the organisers at home, tailored their stories to awaken the public's interest in order to forward the mission’s cause. What significance did these impressions of the work have for those back home?
Finally, I conclude by maintaining that the descriptions of the poverty and want in the heathen countries, disseminated through Sunday schools, schools, prayer meetings, religious literature etc., sharpened our consciences, our sense of guilt and of gratitude. At the same time that the mission's picture created and reinforced our view of ourselves, it established and strengthened the 'good' norms of modern society and was a part of society’s disciplinary power.
