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{{Infobox person
| name = 
| image = Arley Munson Hare.jpg
| caption = Dr. Munson in her World War I uniform from ca. 1918
| birth_name = Arley Isabel Munson
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1871|11|14}}
| birth_place = [[Bridgeport, Connecticut]], U.S.
| death_date = c. 1941 (aged 69 or 70)
| death_place =
| occupation = Physician, surgeon, author, lecturer
| known_for = Medical mission work
| spouse = James Alexander Hare (m. 1924)
}}

[[File:Médaille d’honneur des affaires étrangères militaire 1917.jpg|thumb|150px|French Honour medal of Foreign Affairs for acts of courage and devotion (1917)]]
'''Arley Isabel Hare''' ({{nee}} Munson; November 14, 1871 – c. 1941) was an American physician, surgeon, author, and lecturer. As a young woman in the early 20th century, Munson was a pioneer in the field of medical mission work with the [[Wesleyan Methodist Church (Great Britain)|Wesleyan Methodist]] Mission in [[Medak]], [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[India]]. Along with [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] motives, Munson had a special interest in the state of the health of [[Women in India|Indian women]] and children and in the treatment of epidemics such as [[cholera]] or [[tuberculosis]].

She served in France during [[World War I]], directing laboratories, clinics, and dispensaries. The [[Cabinet of France|French Government]] awarded her with the [[Honour medal of Foreign Affairs#Partial recipients.27 list to foreign military personnel|Medaille d’Honneur des Affaires Étrangères pour actes de courage et dévouement au personnel militaire étranger]] for her medical service. She married at the age of 52 and worked well into her seventies. She died in or around 1941 and is buried in Connecticut.

==Background and education==
===Early life and family===
Arley Isabel Munson was born on November 14, 1871, in [[Bridgeport, Connecticut]], to Thomas Hamilton Munson and Mary Etta Hill Munson.<ref name=Cyclopedia>[http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015078229518;view=1up;seq=671 ''The National Cyclopedia of American Biography'', 1927, Pg. 393]</ref> She was one of five siblings, including Burton, George, Gertrude, Alexander, and Mary. Each sibling had a career of his or her own, with Alexander working at Liberty National Bank and Mary as prominent teacher and lawyer in [[Red Bank, New Jersey]].<ref name=Cyclopedia />

The family attended a [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Protestant Episcopal Church]] and instilled strong religious values in their children.<ref name=jungle /> {{rp|3}}

Munson had descendants from the Revolutionary War and prominent English and Dutch settlers on both her paternal and maternal sides.<ref name=WhosWho>''Woman's Who's Who of America : a biographical dictionary of contemporary women of the United States and Canada'', 1914-1915 [https://archive.org/stream/womanswhoswhoofa00leon/womanswhoswhoofa00leon_djvu.txt]</ref>

===Higher-level education===
Munson attended [[Cornell University]] from 1899 to 1901 for her undergraduate education.<ref name=Cyclopedia/> She attended the [[Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania]], (now [[Drexel University College of Medicine]]) and graduated with her medical degree in 1902.<ref>[http://xdl.drexelmed.edu/item.php?object_id=2242&t=default Drexel University College of Medicine Legacy Center]</ref> Drexel Professor Steven J. Peitzman includes her as one of the "Golden Age" graduates of the Women's Medical College because of her enterprising medical mission work at the turn of the century.<ref name=peitzman>{{cite book|last=Peitzman|first=Steven|title=A New and Untried Course: Woman's Medical College and Medical College of Pennsylvania 1850-1998|year=2000|publisher=Rutgers University Press|location=New Brunswick, New Jersey|page=115}}</ref>

==Medical missionary work in India==

===The missionary journey===
Munson had aspirations to work abroad as a doctor since childhood.<ref name = jungle>{{cite book |last=Munson |first=Arley Isabel |year=1913 |title=Jungle Days, being the Experiences of An American Woman Doctor in India|publisher=D. Appleton and Co. |url=https://archive.org/details/jungledaysbeing00munsgoog }}</ref>{{rp|vii}} She was determined to follow her firmly established evangelical principles in her work, even refusing a government post abroad because of the restrictions against teaching Christianity.<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|22}} Having studied at Women's Medical College with an Indian Brahmin Christian, whom she referred to as “Mrs. Karmarkar,” Munson developed a particular interest in the needs of women and children in India.<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|4}} Following her graduation from medical school, she moved to India to find work while staying with Mrs. Karmarkar in Bombay in 1903, which at the time was ruled under the [[British Raj]].<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|3–5}}

===Medical service in India===

Shortly after arriving in India, Munson found her first medical mission work with [[Roman Catholic Brahmin|Brahmin Christians]], Dr. Prabhakar Balaji Keskar and his wife, at a Christian and Missionary Alliance dispensary in [[Solapur]].<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|6–18}} While she occasionally visited [[Leprosy|Leper Asylums]] and “relief tents” in and around Solapur, her primary focus was on the severe plague outbreak affecting the mission's orphanage.<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|9}}

Munson relocated to [[Medak]], [[Andhra Pradesh]] when she received urgent requests for a doctor at a British [[Wesleyan Methodist Church (Great Britain)|Wesleyan Methodist]] Mission after the abrupt departure of the incumbent physician, Dr. Watts.<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|35,36}} Established in 1887, the Medak Mission was placed on elevated ground (as customary for many mission sites). The gated community included a school, hospital, and a [[Zenana]] women's ward. The mission was home to the revered [[Medak Cathedral]], a diocese of the [[Church of South India]], which still exists today.<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|37–46}} Although Reverend Charles Walker Posnett led the Mission, the land remained under control of the [[Nizam of Hyderabad|Hyderabadi Nizam]], or Muslim monarch.<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|40}} Munson describes the town as consisting of a field, or maidan, mud huts and bazaars, though she and the other missionaries lived in “large and comfortable bungalows” within the gated community.<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|41–42}}

Munson was appointed the superintendent of the Zenana or women's hospital in the Medak Mission<ref name=WhosWho /> where she worked with the Mission's Indian nurses and chief compounder and “Bible-woman” known as “Abbhishakamma.”<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|42}} Munson treated a variety of pathologies like rheumatism, malaria, boils, elephantiasis and wounds from local wild animals, to injuries sustained from local cultural practices including maternal health issues of child-brides, domestic violence and unintentional maltreatment by [[Hakim (title)|Hakims]], or local doctors.<ref name=jungle /> Munson noted that being the only physician within 500 square miles, patients would travel from afar for the Mission's effective medical care.<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|36}}

===Travels throughout India===

Aside from her daily [[Telugu language|Telugu]] lessons from a local ''shastri'',<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|51}} Munson enjoyed a mostly European lifestyle during her stay in India, living in Western styled bungalows and suites within the gated Mission.<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|41}} She and the other missionaries enjoyed regular jaunts in carriages or trains to cities throughout India. Her travels included [[Agra]], [[Mussoorie]], [[Simla, India|Simla]], [[Hoshiapur]], [[Yellareddipet]]t, [[Papannapet]], [[Tandur]], [[Kashmir]], [[Lahore]], [[Rawalpindi]], [[Khyber Pass]], [[Amritsar]], [[Lucknow]], [[Kanpur]], and [[Secunderabad]].<ref name=jungle /> While these outings were primarily for enjoyment, the missionaries would sometimes receive permission from local ''patels'', or headmen, to set up tents in villages and treat the ill. On these occasions, the Medak Indian nurses and the ''chaprassi'', or messenger, would accompany the missionaries.<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|100}}

===Hardships during missionary work===

Munson encountered several cultural and ethical hardships during her missionary work in India. First, came the disapproval of the Wesleyan Methodist Mission's objectives of evangelism. Though there was not much backlash from local Hindu and Muslim leaders, critics from abroad would publicly label the Medak converts as [[rice Christians]], or Christians who convert for pragmatic benefits rather than for devotional reasons.<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|125}} Munson conceded that while many initially converted for material benefits, the Indian Christians were fully devout after numerous spiritual experiences.<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|125}} The missionaries would express disdain for the local Hindu and "Mohamedans" whose practices they found "repulsive".<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|189}}

Munson also struggled with discomfort regarding societal ways of thinking and local cultural practices. During this time, the [[Women's suffrage in the United States|Women's Suffragist Movement]] was underway in the United States.<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|168–182}} As an independent American woman, Munson strongly supported the undertaking and was disappointed that Indian women were not as concerned about women's rights issues as she felt herself to be. Disturbed by the prevalent cases of domestic violence, Munson discussed what she believed to be the inherent male chauvinism among the Indians: "Masculine supremacy runs rife through the veins of even the infant man-child."<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|172}} She cited several ancient proverbs that promote these attitudes including, "He is a fool who considers his wife as his friend", and "Educating a woman is like putting a knife into the hands of a monkey."<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|177}} Munson also blamed the women for being "childlike",<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|173}} and asserted that their lack of education causes "the complete ignorance of the Indian woman [that] enslaves her to the men of her family."<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|171}}

The issues of [[polygamy]], [[child marriage]], [[Maternal death|maternal mortality]], and [[Female foeticide in India|female feticide]] are also central to her hardships abroad.<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|168–182}} In one case, a ten-year-old patient visited the clinic after her 40-year-old husband prematurely consummated the marriage, thus severely injuring the child.<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|164–165}} After performing the necessary surgery to restore the child's health, Munson felt compelled to scold the husband<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|165}} and expressed her desire to "shout aloud to all the women of the happy Western world to help me crush the evil system responsible for the soul-sickening condition of the little patient before me."<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|164}}

An additional major struggle was the contention between local ''[[Hakim (title)|hakims]]'', or doctors who use herbal remedies, and the Western physicians. Munson posited that one reason for existing tensions between local practitioners was due to "religious and professional jealousy".<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|70}} She suspected that the ''hakims'' would start rumors to stir mistrust among the Indians, including one rumor that the Westerners were trying to poison their patients as a sacrifice for the hospital's good fortune.<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|71}} The uncertainty led to the Indians' preference for ''hakims'' who would sometimes cause unintentional and adverse medical consequences. When one ''hakim''{{'}}s work had caused a young boy's intestines harm, Munson gave the patient brandy to alleviate the pain. However, the alcohol quickened the illness and the boy promptly died.<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|272}} The villagers vowed to avenge his death and kill Munson.<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|273}} She was able to escape with the help of the "chapprassis" (messengers).
The heavy monsoons of the region and the flooding of the central [[Osmania General Hospital]],<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|283}} added to the struggles of Munson while in India by causing an overwhelming influx of patients, many suffering from [[cholera]].<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|285}} Many patients in desperation were influenced by the [[evangelism]] of the Mission and converted to Christianity.<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|285}}

==Returning from missionary service==
Munson ended her work in India with a trip down the coast of South India in December 1908.<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|296}}

Munson recounted her experiences in her autobiographical book, ''Jungle Days, being the experiences of an American woman doctor in India'', published by [[D. Appleton & Company|D. Appelton and Company]] in 1913.<ref name=jungle /> Having created an emotional tie with the country, Munson ended her book with a statement that expresses the motivation behind her medical missionary work:
{{Quote|text=Good-bye, my India! Though I may never see again your burning plains, your snow-crowned hills, your sun-kissed children, my heart will always hold you dear, for you have given me the greatest blessing of earth or heaven — peace!<ref name=jungle/>{{rp|298}}}}

In 1915, [[Doubleday, Page & Company|Doubleday, Page & Co.]] published Munson's second book about her travels throughout India entitled ''Kipling's India''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Munson |first=Arley Isabel |year=1915 |title=Kipling's India|url=https://archive.org/details/kiplingsindia00muns }}</ref> The book's title and content, with many references to the English writer [[Rudyard Kipling]], indicate her profound admiration for the author. Munson's book documented the similarities between her experiences in India and those of the characters in Kipling's novels. In addition, the title of her first book, ''Jungle Days'', resembles the title of Kipling's famous work ''[[The Jungle Book]]''.

== Career after Indian missionary service ==

Munson returned to the United States in 1908, where her career path took a more erratic trajectory, with frequent relocations and several switches to different specialities. Initially, she continued to promote her work abroad, lecturing at universities and conferences about her medical and religious work in the United States and England.<ref name=Cyclopedia /> Munson then briefly worked in the Women's Department at the Southern Indiana Hospital for the Insane in Evansville, Indiana.<ref name=peitzman /> Following this position, she worked as the assistant superintendent at the State Home for the Feeble-Minded Women at Vineland, New Jersey.<ref name=eveningpost>{{cite web|title=St. Valentine's Week Gay with Dances for Charity: Munson-Hare Wedding.|url= http://fultonhistory.com/newspaper%2011/New%20York%20Evening%20Post/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Post%201924%20Grayscale/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Post%201924%20Grayscale%20-%200880.pdf}}</ref> She left this work to become the director and instructor in the [[Serology]] Department at the [[NYU School of Medicine|Post-Graduate Medical School and Hospital in New York City]].<ref name=Cyclopedia /> Following this position, in 1914, Munson started a private practice in gynecology and orthopedics in Red Bank, New Jersey, where she lived with her sister and brother-in-law, Mary and William Sutton.<ref name=Cyclopedia />

===Medical work during World War I===
Towards the end of [[World War I]] in 1918, Munson joined the auspices of the [[Rockefeller Foundation]] and worked at the [[Red Cross]] Military Hospital in [[Paris]], France, as the Chief of Dispensaries.<ref name=eveningpost /> In 1919, she moved to [[Eure-et-Loir]], France and ran the provisional [[Chartres]] Tuberculosis Hospital.<ref name=eveningpost />
During her time in France, Munson established a lab and ran the TB hospital until 1922. The French government bestowed her with the [[Honour medal for courage and devotion|Medaille d'Honneur]] (Medal of Honor) for her commitment and honorable work during World War I.<ref name=eveningpost />
She left France from Le Havre on the [[USS Rochambeau (AP-63)|''Rochambeau'']] and returned to the United States in 1922.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ellis Island Records|website=[[FamilySearch]] |url=https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JN3Q-8M2|accessdate=December 21, 2013}}</ref>

Upon her return to the United States, Munson became the associate editor and director of the Research Department at the International Medical and Surgical Survey. She remained an active member of the [[American Medical Association]], the New Jersey State Medical Society, the [[New York County Medical Society]], Monmouth County Medical Society, the [[Daughters of the American Revolution]], and the [[American Association of University Women]].<ref name=Cyclopedia />

==Later life==
At the age of 52, Munson married James Alexander Hare on February 16, 1924. Hare was born in Scotland in 1874 and immigrated to the U.S. in 1874. He studied German at [[Harvard College]] and worked at Forstmann & Huffman Textile Company.<ref name=eveningpost /> He had one daughter, named Annie, from his previous marriage to Christine C. Odenweller of Massachusetts.<ref>{{cite web|title=Family Search Records|website=[[FamilySearch]] |url=https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/N469-WM9|accessdate=December 21, 2013}}</ref> The couple settled in [[Passaic, New Jersey]], and had no children.

Evidence suggests that Munson continued working in New York City until around 1941 when she died.<ref name=peitzman /> She was buried in [[Groton, Connecticut]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Family Search Records|website=[[FamilySearch]] |url=https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X4FX-461|accessdate=December 21, 2013}}</ref>

{{ course assignment | course = Education Program:University of Pennsylvania/HSOC 59 Medical Missionaries and Community Partners (Fall 2013) | term = 2013 Q3 }}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://archive.org/details/jungledaysbeing00muns Jungle days; being the experiences of an American woman doctor in India (1913)]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hare, Arley Munson}}
[[Category:Christian medical missionaries]]
[[Category:Cornell University alumni]]
[[Category:1871 births]]
[[Category:20th-century American women medical doctors]]
[[Category:20th-century American medical doctors]]
[[Category:American gynecologists]]
[[Category:1940s deaths]]
[[Category:Date of death missing]]
[[Category:Zenana missions]]
[[Category:Methodist missionaries in India]]
[[Category:American Methodist missionaries]]
[[Category:Female Christian missionaries]]
[[Category:Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania alumni]]
[[Category:American missionaries in India]]
[[Category:American medical missionaries]]

Arley Munson Hare - Revision history

ArleneLigertwood: stub