Abstract British women have hitherto been almost absent from the history of British colonialism in the Middle East, and particularly in Mandate Palestine (1918–48). By using an individual tale of a British nurse as a vantage point, the article explores the personal and professional experiences of British nurses in Mandate Palestine and scrutinizes their contested status. As women, as British, as medical practitioners, and specifically as nurses, British nurses present a singular type of local-level imperial agent who confronted multiple challenges to their identities. Empowered as imperial agents of health, biomedicine, and hygiene, they had exercised professional, cultural, and racial authority over indigenous people. At the same time, their gender, vocation, and marital status have limited their scope of influence within a male-dominated medical hierarchy, as well as locate them at the lower strata of British colonial society. Nurses’ tales thus offer a unique perspective for investigating colonial power relations and the intersections of medicine, gender, race, and class.

中文翻译：

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女性帝国代理人与权力的错综复杂

摘要 迄今为止，英国女性在中东，尤其是在托管巴勒斯坦（1918-48 年）的英国殖民主义历史中几乎没有出现过。本文以英国护士的个人故事为视角，探讨英国护士在托管巴勒斯坦的个人和专业经历，并审视他们的争议地位。作为女性，作为英国人，作为医生，特别是作为护士，英国护士呈现出一种独特的地方级别的帝国代理人，他们面临着多重身份挑战。作为健康、生物医学和卫生的帝国代理人，他们对土著人民行使了专业、文化和种族权威。同时，他们的性别、职业、和婚姻状况限制了他们在男性主导的医疗等级制度中的影响范围，并将他们定位在英国殖民社会的下层。因此，护士的故事为调查殖民权力关系以及医学、性别、种族和阶级的交叉点提供了独特的视角。