Emily was a short woman, but she jolted upright and stood stiffly before this powerful man. “Your Senate may refuse to admit women now, but the day will come when these doors will swing wide open to every female who chooses to apply.”
McCaul was not impressed with Emily’s boldness. “Never in my day, Madam. The doors of the University are not open to women and I trust they never will be.”
Emily vowed, “Then I will make it the business of my life to see that they will be opened, that women may have the same opportunities as men.”
Emily never forgot this promise. But before she could change the lives of all Canadian girls, she had to struggle to change her own future, by adding pattern pieces to her own life.
Where did she get the courage?
DR. “JAMES” MIRANDA STUART BARRY
There was one female doctor in Canada before Emily. For 46 years, Miranda Barry dressed as a man and called herself “James” Barry. When she was Inspector-General of Military Hospitals in Canada from 1857-1861 no one guessed she was a woman. Her secret was discovered after she died and her body was being prepared for burial. Many people told Emily to copy Miranda, but Emily wanted women to be accepted as themselves.