Hana Catherine Mullens

Hana Catherine Mullens
Born 1826
Chinsurah, India
Died 1861
Calcutta, British India
Occupation Author
Spouse(s)
Joseph Mullens (m. 1845)
Children Alice Maria Mullens
Eliot Mullens
Kenneth Mullens
Lucy Ramsay Mullens
Kate Hasell Mullens
Parents
  • Alphonse Francois Lacroix (father)
  • Hannah Herklots (mother)

Hana Catherine Mullens (1826–1861) was a Swiss-German woman in Bengal, unmarried name Lacroix.[1] She is credited by some with having written the first novel in the Bengali language, Phulmani O Karunar Bibaran (Description of Phulmani and Karuna), in 1852.[2] There are other claimants to being earlier novels. Nabababubilas published by Bhabani Charan Bandyopadhyay in 1825 is claimed as one by some[3] but others think of it as being merely a story.[4] Similar reservation has also been expressed about Phulmani O Karunar Bibaran.[5][6]

Early life

Her father Alphonse François Lacroix was a Swiss citizen who went to Chinsurah in India in 1821 to preach Christianity on behalf of the London Missionary Society. Hana learnt Bengali from the servants at home and at the age of 12 started teaching Bengali in a newly established school in Calcutta (now, Kolkata). In 1845, she was married to Joseph Mullens, who was also engaged in preaching Christianity in India.[2] It was a period when Sanskrit was used for literary purposes and Bengali was only a language of conversation.

Literary achievements

Her first Bengali book Phulmani O Karunar Bibaran was written for native Christian women in 1852. The objective was to preach Christianity. This book was published six years before Peary Chand Mitra published his Alaler Gharer Dulal.[2]

The first Bengali woman to write a novel was Swarnakumari Devi, with her Deepnirban in 1876.[3][7]

Mullens wrote another book, The Missionary on the Ganges or What is Christianity, in both English and Bengali. She translated Charlotte Maria Tucker's Daybreak in Britain into Bengali.[2]

Zenana work

It was at the invitation of Mullens’ husband, chairing the Bengal Missionary Conference of 1855, that Rev. John Fordyce first reported on his female teaching initiative in the zenanas of Calcutta. Shortly thereafter, Mrs Mullens persuaded the widow of a Hindu doctor to accommodate zenana teaching in her home, and then negotiated other similar arrangements.[8] Her work in this respect was interrupted by a return to England in 1858, but by the time of her death in 1861 she had four zenanas under her care and was visiting a further eleven every afternoon.[9] Her work in this field earned her the accolade of "Apostle of the Zenanas".[10]

References

  1. ↑ Prior, Katherine. "Lacroix, Alphonse François". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/15845. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. 1 2 3 4 Sengupta, Subodh Chandra and Bose, Anjali (editors), (1976/1998), Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan (Biographical dictionary) Vol I, (in Bengali), p 423, ISBN 81-85626-65-0.
  3. 1 2 Aziz, Mahibul (2012). "Novel". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  4. ↑ Sengupta, Subodh Chandra and Bose, Anjali, pp. 374-375.
  5. ↑ Bandopadhyay, Brajendranath, Sahitye Banga Mahila, in Bethune College and School Centenary Volume, edited by Dr. Kalidas Nag, 1949, p. 196
  6. ↑ "Malence, Hanah Kathrin - Banglapedia". en.banglapedia.org. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  7. ↑ Banerjee, Hiranmay, Thakurbarir Katha, (in Bengali), p. 119, Sishu Sahitya Sansad.
  8. ↑ Emma Raymond Pitman, India Zenana Missions (London: John Snow & Co., 1903), pp. 20-21.
  9. ↑ Robert A. Bickers and Rosemary Seton, eds, Missionary Encounters: Sources and Issues (Richmond: Curzon Press, 1996), pp. 51-52.
  10. ↑ Pitman, ut supra.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.