The Pilgrim's Progress

After Faithful’s death, Bunyan gives Christian a new traveling companion, Hopeful, to provide him with support and fellowship on his spiritual journey. In a parenthetical, Bunyan reveals how Hopeful acquired his name: “[B]eing made so by the beholding of Christian and Faithful in their words and behaviour, in their sufferings at the fair” (459). Hopeful is from the town of Vanity, showing that where one comes from or who one has been is less important than who one chooses to be going forward. Bunyan’s notes about Hopeful’s name suggest that Hopeful wasn’t always so hopeful, but the piety that Christian and Faithful demonstrate is contagious. The episode highlights the theme of Alienation and Antagonism Versus Self-Awareness and Community. Although pilgrims may find themselves at odds with worldly society, being among fellow Christians can make the journey easier.

Mr. By-ends provides another opportunity to reflect on the nature of true belief. As his name suggests, Mr. By-end’s concern is the end result. He’ll conform to Christian teachings as long as they don’t adversely affect his comfort or standing in society. He and his family “never strive against Wind and Tide” and are “alwayes most zealous when Religion goes in his Silver Slippers” (465). Mr. Hold-the-world and Mr. Money-love enhance the juxtaposition, their materialism contrasting with the spirituality of Christian and Hopeful. Hopeful is not perfect, however, exhibiting his flawed character when he desires to look in the Silver Mine. That it is a silver mine specifically is suggestive, recalling Judas’s betrayal of Christ for 30 pieces of silver. Demas, who attempts to lure the pilgrims into the mine, was an associate of the Apostle Paul who abandoned his ministry for worldly things. Although Christian saves Hopeful from the mine, Mr. By-ends, Mr. Hold-the-world, and Mr. Money-love confirm their covetousness by falling into it. Following this consideration of materialism, Bunyan continues to explore the theme of Human Laws and Customs Versus Christian Devotion with the appearance of Lot’s wife.

Mr. By-ends foreshadows By-Path-Meadow, and Bunyan highlights the dark, treacherous atmosphere through dialogue. Christian and Hopeful must call out to one another to figure out where they are. They fall asleep on Giant Despair’s property. This sleep is bad; it leads to their imprisonment. The motif of gender returns, as Diffidence (here meaning something like “mistrust”) tells her husband what to do: “[S]he counseled him, that when he arose in the morning, he should beat them without any mercy” (507). Giant Despair’s failure to break the pilgrims’ spirits and his “fits” further compromise his masculinity. Bunyan thus uses the subversion of traditional roles within marriage to underscore the antagonists’ villainy. Giant Despair’s childish behavior also gives the story some humor—ironically, given that what he represents is the kind of intense despair that might lead to suicide. The imprisonment reinforces the pilgrims’ perseverance and their belief in God. They reject the suggestion that they kill themselves, which Christianity has traditionally viewed as implying a lack of faith in God’s mercy (and therefore as a sin). Further, after praying to God, Christian realizes he has a key, which symbolizes that God can help a person no matter the situation. The “fit” that Giant Despair experiences in the sunlight implies that despair cannot withstand the light of God’s truth.

The trip to Delectable Mountains demonstrates that the journey toward God isn’t all struggle and hardship, but the warning about the flatterer foreshadows trouble ahead. Ignorance arrives, but Christian and Hopeful largely ignore him. They discuss matters like the story of Little Faith, but Ignorance doesn’t join the conversation. Little Faith’s character has a subtler allegorical meaning. He has faith and a certificate to the Celestial City. Yet he doesn’t have a lot of faith, so after thieves steal his money, he yields to his sorrows, and they consume him or “swallow up all” (546). Nonetheless, Little Faith retains his faith—he continues his pilgrimage—but he does so on the periphery, or “to the walls” (555).

A “man black of flesh, but covered with a very light Robe” symbolizes the problems with false ministers (563): Not all those who claim to be agents of God are. The darkness of his skin largely serves to contrast with the light of God (in which he deceptively clothes himself), but there may be racist overtones as well. The angel who frees Christian and Hopeful first censures them, exhibiting the importance of self-awareness; the pilgrims need to understand what they have done wrong.

Hopeful’s backstory, which he relays at the Enchanted Ground, develops his character and alludes to Bunyan’s journey. Like Bunyan, Hopeful “delighted much in Rioting, Revelling, Drinking, Swearing, Lying, Uncleanness, Sabbath-breaking, and whatnot, that tended to destroy the Soul” (578). It also demonstrates the importance of the personal conversion experience to Puritanism; after many fruitless hours of prayer, Hopeful is finally rewarded with a vision of Jesus, solidifying his faith.

Once Christian starts to pay attention to Ignorance, it spotlights the latter’s characterization. His beliefs are superficial. He tells Christian, “I think of God and Heaven,” and Christian replies, “So do the Devils, and damned Souls” (601). The dialogue is philosophical but one-sided: Ignorance withers under Christian’s questions and leaves them. By contrast, nothing can dampen Christian and Hopeful’s faith. As they approach the Celestial City, they become “sick of love” (631), which symbolizes their all-consuming desire to reach heaven. With imagery and dialogue, Bunyan makes it seem like Christian will sink into the river. The waters represent death, but that death only pertains to their worldly selves and is more like a transformation: The two pilgrims go from flawed humans to heavenly creatures. They’re in the “the Paradice of God” where they can “see the Tree of Life, and eat of the never-fading fruits” (642). Ignorance, however, goes to hell. Bunyan complicates the perfect vision of heaven by putting a path to hell in it.

Sticking with his educational, instructive tone, Bunyan returns with a “Conclusion.” However, he does not treat the reader like they’re “Ignorant,” giving them tasks with prompts like “See if thou canst Interpret it to me” and “Turn up my Metaphors and do not fail” (657). The conclusion reminds the reader that what they’ve read is more than just a story. It’s an allegory, so there is a lot of meaning to unpack. If the reader doesn’t analyze it or dismisses its religious significance, then Bunyan will “Dream again” (210)—a bit of foreshadowing, as Bunyan would eventually publish the sequel that constitutes Part 2.