What would a young woman of the 1890s have felt as she contemplated becoming a missionary? Would she have been excited, fearful, nervous, expectant – or confident, assured, determined, full of faith? What would life have been like for her – a woman living in Britain, and later, overseas? We know some answers from looking at the life of Ellen Farrer – a focussed, yet unassuming woman who no doubt experienced all those feelings as she began her application to work with the
Baptist Zenana Mission in 1891. From her diaries, which she faithfully wrote for over 40 years, we can piece together a brief sketch of her life.
Ellen was a determined woman – she had been among the first women in the country to qualify as a doctor. She then had to face the prejudice against women doctors at the end of 19th century, and the incredible difficulty of gaining practical medical experience after graduating.
Eventually, though, she managed to secure a hospital post, and her life came to be made up of hospital work, prayer meetings, letter writing, reading, drama, meeting friends and teaching Sunday school.
During this time, in February 1891, Ellen applied to work with the Baptist Zenana Mission. The application took her almost two weeks to fill in, as she pondered over what to write, a little nervous of what the future would hold. The questions were hard – what if she wasn’t accepted? And what if her references had given her ‘far too high a character’, as she wrote in her diary? What if she proved a disappointment to them? Still, she wrote down what her hopes and dreams were: to be allowed ‘to develop medical mission work – even having a hospital if it seemed admirable’.
Ellen finished off the papers on 17 February and three days later headed to Mission House for her personal interview with the Zenana Committee. Recording her thoughts later in her diary she noted that ‘it was less terrible by far than my fears’.
She did not know at that point that Amelia Angus, the foreign secretary of the mission, had already seen her potential. Talking to the Committee before Ellen’s interview, Mrs Angus made it clear to them that they needed to think carefully about her application and be prepared to support Ellen’s medical work in the future years. A wholehearted endorsement of this new type of mission work would be required.
Ellen needn’t have worried. According to the minutes recording the interview, she ‘made a very pleasant impression’ on the Committee and she was accepted unanimously.
Ellen was delighted – but her excitement at the prospect of working in India did not blind her to the realities of a woman’s position in the world at that time. Speaking at the Baptist Assembly in Manchester in 1891 Ellen did not miss the opportunity of pointing out the inconsistencies of the treatment of British women: while women were allowed to train as doctors and go abroad as missionaries, the same women would often be seen as ‘unwomanly’ at home and not allowed the same privileges.
Nonetheless, Ellen herself set sail for India in 1891 to take up her work as a missionary doctor. Arriving in Bhiwani in November of that year she took over a small dispensary in an Indian house. On the first day she saw three patients but it was a month before the first one could be persuaded to stay at the dispensary for treatment. How was she to gain their confidence?
A breakthrough came as she performed her first operation there. It was conducted in an open courtyard on a small boy of ten. At a critical moment a dust-storm blew up, which made any sterilising precautions useless. Despite this, though, the operation was still a success, and Ellen was able to gain a firm foothold in the confidence of the people. Gradually, by her careful, thorough and devoted service she was able to overcome all suspicion of her work.
And within a few months of her arrival in India the Baptist Zenana Mission was able to report that:
"During the three months ending February 14th, Miss Farrer has had 1,471 cases, of whom 447 are new ones. In spite of much prejudice on the part of the patients, and many disappointments to ourselves, the medical mission has already gained ground, and has proved a most valuable help.
It was not long before Ellen’s hopes and dreams noted on her application form saw fulfilment. In 1899 the first hospital buildings in Bhiwani opened after money had been raised during her first Home Assignment. The buildings were enlarged twice as the medical work grew and in 1923 a new hospital was built and named the Farrer Hospital.
For 42 years, until her retirement in 1933, Ellen worked tirelessly, healing, teaching, training and administering. Twice the Indian Government showed its recognition of her contribution to the welfare of the Indian people by bestowing on her first the Kaiser-i-Hind Silver Medal and later the Gold Medal of the same order. Her distinguished public service was recognised – she had gained the confidence of her patients, the Indian government, and had also played a crucial role in the advancement of medical missionary work.
Perhaps a key to her tireless work and determination can be seen in a simple prayer she noted in her diary on New Year’s Eve 1891. On the last day of what she called “the most eventful year of my life” – the year she went to India – she quoted and prayed the following verse from a well-known hymn:
I dare not choose my lot –
I would not if I might
Choose thou for me, my God
So shall I walk aright.
And so, nervous, fearful, confident or hopeful, Ellen’s was a walk of determined surrender to her God.