Background of Mary Sheldon
Mary French Sheldon left for East Africa in 1891. She left her husband in Europe and made the journey herself, only accompanied by native porters. Mary never addresses exactly why she decided to travel alone and why she chose to travel to East Africa, only writing,
"Having listened willingly to the officious opinions volunteered by all classes of men and women, as to the utter absurdity of my project; denounced universally as a as a fanatic, entertaining a mad scheme, if not mad myself - principally mad because the idea was unique, a thorough innovation; there was no precedent on which to predicate action or draw deductions upon which to formulate a feasible line of procedure; it had never been done, never even been suggested, hence it must be beyond the conventional pale of practicability; and above all, having ever flouted in my face that it was outside the limitation of woman's legitimate province I determined to accomplish the undertaking. Success resulted. "
From "An African Expedition" 1894, page 131
Her decision to travel to East Africa was based on her observation that,
"Then, too, the inadequate accounts of the women and children, the home life, have ever been portrayed from a superficial, biased point of view; for the white man has, by his own confession, been denied a full and complete acquaintance with the more intimate lives of the East African women."
