John Bunyan: The Pilgrim’s Progress – English – UGC NET – Notes

Introduction

• The Pilgrim’s Progress written by John Bunyan was published in 1678. The work has been identified as ‘the prose epic of English Puritanism’1 , ‘the epic of itinerant’ and ‘the epic of poor’2 . In fact, Bunyan has been referred to as ‘Spenser of the people’3 .
• John Bunyan was not someone who would confirm to the demands of the state and that is why he was imprisoned for many years as he did not agree to stop preaching beyond the permitted scope of geographical legitimacy and this was against the Conventicle Act of 1593.
• The popularity of The Pilgrim’s Progress scholars can be judged from the fact that it is still available in print. Scholars believe that Bunyan’s allegory became so famous that at some point this was only second to Bible in terms of its circulation.
• John Bunyan (1628-88) was the eldest son of a tinker4 . He was born at Elstow, Bedfordshire, England. He has mentioned about his humble origins in his autobiography and it is believed that he has not mentioned about his meagre origin story to gain attention, but to extend his gratitude to god for what he has achieved due to the almighty’s blessings.
• He hardly had any education. Bunyan researchers agree that if he had ever visited school then it could be either the grammar school at Bedford or the one at Houghton Conquest. But it is clear that his association with school must have been for a very brief period. The year 1644 was of great significance for Bunyan.
• Both his mother and sister (Margaret) died that year; his father got into matrimonial alliance for the third time and in the same year he joined the Parliamentary Army. For the next couple of years, there has been no specific record of him being part of any military expedition.
• Even though uneventful, his military life exposed him to the religious point of view of certain captains and individuals who served within the army of Oliver Cromwell. They were questioning the roles of all religious authorities.
• They were supporting and promoting the idea of the individual conscience. This brought him close to Puritan ideas which suggested seeking divine grace on an individual level without the involvement of the public organization.
• It is believed that after completing his military tenure he returned to Elstow where he continued his family profession. Bunyan got married twice. His first wife was a poor lady and nothing much is known about her. His second wife was Elizabeth who was significant in pleading his case against being prisoned.
• Bunyan’s involvement with Puritanism was a gradual process as it is reflected in his autobiography. Bunyan with his spiritual awakening became an active presence in open-communion church and debates related to religion. Soon, Bunyan became a recognized leader among the sectaries.
• With the Restoration of Charles II, things took a new turn and churches which had enjoyed freedom of worship and extended some influence on formulation of government policies came to an end abruptly. On 12 November 1660, Bunyan was presented before the local magistrate at Lower Samsell in South Bedfordshire.
• He was pressed with charges based on an old Elizabethan act which did not allow performing any service which was not in conformity with the norms of the Church of England. But despite being booked under the law, Bunyan refused to assure the magistrate that he will not repeat the offense in future. This led to his being imprisoned in jail for 12 long years.
• It was during this imprisonment that Bunyan wrote and published Grace Abounding, the spiritual autobiography. The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678) was also written during his imprisonment phase. His next offering was a realistic novel called The Life and Death of Mr. Badman (1680).
• The Holy War was published in 1682 and this was Bunyan’s second allegory. The Pilgrim’s Progress, Second Part was published in the year 1684. A Book for Boys and Girls was a children’s book that came out in print in 1686.
• His writings are laced with human behaviour. They are pitched with awareness and moral values. He was blessed with the talent of introducing concepts of theology and reflecting them in day-to-day experiences. Bunyan wrote with the intention of celebrating his faith and making more people embark on the path of spiritual reawakening. Bunyan died in London in 1688. He was buried in Bunhill Fields.

The Pilgrim’s Progress: An Overview

• The Pilgrim’s Progress begins with the narrator defending the story that he is about to unfold. This story is in the form of a dream. According to the narrator, as he fell asleep he dreamt of a man named Christian. Christian, as we are told, was suffering from spiritual anguish. Christian was visited by Evangelist who was a spiritual guide. Evangelist met Christian and asked him to leave the City of Destruction and move to Celestial City or Mount Zion where salvation can be found.
• On being instructed by Evangelist, Christian undertakes the journey all by himself as his family refuses to accompany him. On his way he comes across a Worldly Wiseman who advises him to lead a life which was happy and devoid of religion. But Christian does not like the idea. In the course of his journey, he takes shelter at the house of Goodwill. Goodwill suggests to Christian to stop by at Interpreter’s home. Here at the Interpreter’s home, Christian gains knowledge about faith.
• Christian comes across Christ’s tomb and cross while walking through the wall of Salvation. Witnessing this vision, Christian’s burden falls to the ground. Here a celestial creature gives him a rolled certificate which was needed to enter the Celestial City. But soon Christian falls asleep and somehow loses the certificate. As this certificate was his record to enter the Celestial City, Christian curses himself for being so careless. But soon he recovers it. As he moves forward in his journey, he comes across four mistresses of the Palace Beautiful.
• They provide him shelter during his stay. The four mistresses also provided him with means of defence. Continuing, Christian descends the Valley of Humiliation and confronts Apollyon, the monster. Christian kills Apollyon with a sword and marches towards the desertlike Valley of the Shadow of Death.
• Christian comes across a traveller from his hometown named Faithful. Both Christian and Faithful are accompanied by Talkative who is a pilgrim like them. Christian does not like Talkative. Evangelist warns both Faithful and Christian about the treacherous town of Vanity and prophecies that either Christian or Faithful will die in this town.
• Christian and Faithful visit the famous fair of vanity. When they do not fall into the trap of temptation they are mocked by the local people. However, unfortunately Christian and Faithful are imprisoned by the local folks for mocking their religion. Faithful unsuccessfully defends himself at the local court and loses. He is executed for his actions and he reaches heaven after death. On the other hand, Christian is sent off to prison; but he escapes.
• After escape, continuing on his way, Christian meets another pilgrim, Hopeful. They also meet By-ends. By-ends uses religion to gain power. Discovering him, Christian refuses his company. Both Hopeful and Christian reach the plain of Ease. Here Demas tries to tempt them with silver, but they do not fall prey to temptation.
• That night, they both rested on the grounds of Doubting Castle. In the morning, Giant Despair along with his wife imprisons them and tortures them. But Christian and Hopeful with the power of the key of Promise escape the captivity.
• After sometime, Christian and Hopeful reach Delectable Mountains which was near Celestial City. Here the wise shepherds tell them about the deceptive mountains Error and Caution which could bring them death.
• On their way, Christian and Hopeful come across Ignorance who is a teenager and believes that living a good life is good to prove ones faith. But Christian does not agree with this statement. Following their disagreement, Ignorance decides to leave their company. Proceeding with their journey, they come across Flatterer and Atheist. They manage to cross the Enchanted Ground.
• Merrily, Christian and Hopeful reach the land of Beulah (Celestial City is located in this region). The place was beaming with flowers and fruits while the travellers were refreshed. But to reach the city gate, they must cross a river which did not have a bridge. After a long gruelling effort both Christian and Hopeful cross the river. Unlike their previous experience, the folks of the Celestial City extend a warm welcome to them.
• With this, the Part One concludes and the narrator suggests that he hopes his dream will be interpreted in the appropriate manner.
• John Bunyan in the Introduction to Part II mentions that this book is called as “Christiana”. In this part, the reader is exposed to Christiana as well as the journey of her children to the Celestial City. The narrator informs the readers that he came to know about Christiana’s story from an old man called Sagacity. Christiana willingly follows her husband Christian to the Celestial City along with her four sons and Mercy (Christiana’s help). They manage to cross the Slough of Despond with the help of the gatekeeper. On the way, the sons steal fruit from the Garden of Devil which angers two ruffians but fortunately all of them manage to escape.
• Like the husband, Christiana and others take shelter at the Interpreter’s house. The Interpreter’s manservant Great-heart assists all of them to reach safely at the House Beautiful. Mr. Brisk, for a brief period courts Mercy. But after discovering that she is involved in charity work, he stops wooing her. Matthew falls ill after consuming the fruit that he had stolen from the Garden of Devil. But Dr. Skill cures him. The group successfully moves through the Valley of Humiliation and then to the Valley of Shadow of Death. They manage to slay the giant Maul and Giant Good-slay. Later on, they rescue Feeble-mind and Ready-to-Halt. Soon they cross the river of life and after killing the Giant Despair they merrily enter the Delectable Mountains.
• On the way, Christiana and others meet Valiant-for-truth who joins them for the rest of the journey. After moving through the Enchanted Ground they meet Standfast who had resisted the offerings of a temptress. Upon entering the Celestial City, Christiana meets her maker–the Master.