Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Pilgrim’s Progress, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Burden of Sin and Salvation through Christ
The World vs. Christianity
Obstacles on the Journey
The Centrality of the Bible
Women as Pilgrims
Summary
Analysis
By this time, Christian and Hopeful have entered the country called Beulah. Here, the air is sweet, birds sing and flowers bloom constantly, and the sun never stops shining. Neither the Valley of the Shadow of Death nor Doubting Castle can even be glimpsed from here. Shining Ones walk in Beulah, because it is on Heaven’s border. From here, they can see the golden streets of the Celestial City. Both Christian and Hopeful are so filled with desire for the Celestial City that they become sick with it.
At last the pilgrims reach the outskirts of Heaven, a place where memories of the darkest parts of their journey fade and the Celestial City itself is within sight. The pilgrims’ “sickness” is an allusion to the Bible’s Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon), a poem that is allegorically interpreted to refer to the soul’s lovesickness for Christ.
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After they recover, Christian and Hopeful walk among the orchards and gardens of Beulah. After stopping to rest in a vineyard, they resolve to enter the Celestial City. Two Shining Ones accompany them to the Gate, but they explain that the pilgrims must enter the City by means of their own faith. Between themselves and the Gate, Christian and Hopeful see a deep River. There is no bridge, and the angels explain that there is no other way to the City. Only Enoch and Elijah were spared this part of the journey. They also explain to the worried pilgrims that the River’s depth varies, but that their faith in the City’s King will determine whether they find the water deep or shallow.
Christian’s and Hopeful’s dismay at the sight of the River suggests that all human beings must face the dreadful inevitability of death. Enoch and Elijah, whom the angels mention here, are both Old Testament figures who were believed to have been miraculously transported to Heaven without experiencing death. The angel’s point is not that Christians must prove themselves worthy of Heaven—that would go against Bunyan’s theology—but that faith in Christ is the bridge across the “river,” and that nobody can exercise faith on another’s behalf.
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Christian and Hopeful wade into the River. At once, Christian starts to sink, and he cries out to Hopeful in fear. Hopeful encourages him, saying that he can feel the bottom. But Christian is consumed by dread and fear, unable to see the way in front of him and believing he will never make it. He forgets all the comforts he encountered throughout his pilgrimage and remembers his past sins instead. Hopeful keeps Christian’s head above water, telling him the Gate is near. He assures Christian that the deep waters are not a sign that God has forsaken Christian; rather, they are meant to test Christian’s faith, to see if he will focus on God’s goodness or on his own distress.
At death, even a strong Christian may face powerful temptations—especially the temptation to focus on one’s sins instead of on God. This is Christian’s experience. The consequence is that he believes he will drown and never make it to the Celestial City. This terror does not reflect reality, as Hopeful keeps reassuring his friend—it is merely a divine testing of his faith. Bunyan uses this scene to reassure his audience that although death can be frightening for anyone, God does not abandon the fearful believer.
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Christian is lost in thought for a while. Then, when Hopeful tells him to cheer up because Jesus makes him whole, Christian cries out with new confidence, quoting the Bible: “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee.” They both finish crossing the River, encountering no more obstacles; even Christian now finds the water shallow. On the opposite bank, they find Shining Ones waiting to greet them.
Hopeful’s efforts to recall Christian to his faith are finally successful. He remembers a Bible verse, Isaiah 43:2, which promises God’s presence in the midst of fearsome difficulties. Christian’s change of heart also alters his perception of the River’s depth, making the rest of the crossing easy.
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The Celestial City sits atop a big hill, but Christian and Hopeful find it easy to climb because of the angels’ help. Also, they are no longer burdened by their “mortal garments,” having emerged from the River without them. The journey above the clouds is cheerful and comforting. The angels tell the pilgrims all about Mount Zion, “the heavenly Jerusalem.” They will soon be in God’s Paradise, where they can eat from the Tree of Life and spend eternity walking and talking with the King of the City. They will never be troubled with earthly sorrow, suffering, or death. They will be rewarded for their toil, enjoy the perpetual sight of God, and praise him forever.
Christian and Hopeful have passed beyond earthly difficulties. The angels tell the pilgrims what they can expect in the Celestial City—a completely new kind of existence in which the world’s opposition will no longer trouble them. Instead of journeying as pilgrims and struggling with obstacles on the way, they will have arrived, and they will bask in the rewards of God’s presence.
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As Christian and Hopeful approach the Gate, an entire “Heavenly Host” and a group of the King’s Trumpeters welcomes them with celebratory shouts and music. The Shining Ones tell Christian and Hopeful to seek entrance at the Gate. They see biblical figures like Moses and Elijah looking over the Gate at them. Christian and Hopeful hand in their certificates, and from inside, the King commands that the Gate be opened. As Christian and Faithful enter, their appearance is transformed, and they are dressed in golden garments. They are also given harps and crowns. The entire Celestial City gleams like the sun.
Heaven is home to biblical heroes, whose company Christian and Hopeful will now join. After relying on the teachings of the Bible to get them through their pilgrimage, they will now experience the Bible’s story in a direct and immediate way. Christian and Hopeful hand in their certificates of assurance because, having arrived, they no longer require a token to give them courage along the way. Faith has given way to sight.
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Meanwhile, Ignorance crosses the River with little difficulty, thanks to a ferryman named Vain-hope. However, no angels accompany him. When Ignorance knocks at the Gate, the people of the City question him. When the residents of the City ask for his certificate, Ignorance has nothing to show them. Then the King tells the Shining Ones to bind Ignorance and take him away; they accordingly place him in Hell, which has an entrance just short of Heaven’s gates. Then the narrator wakes, realizing it has all been a dream.
The proximity to Hell suggests that, chillingly, a person can travel to the very gates of Heaven but not actually be admitted—like Ignorance, they might be found to lack genuine faith, having been self-deceived. As Christian and Hopeful had warned earlier, Ignorance’s lack of a certificate becomes his downfall. The narrator, meanwhile, wakes from his dream of the pilgrims’ progress.
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