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
Christian and Hopeful arrive at the Delectable Mountains and refresh themselves in the vineyards there. They find Shepherds feeding their flocks. The Shepherds explain that these mountains are in Immanuel’s Land, and that they are within sight of the Celestial City. The Shepherds invite the pilgrims to spend the night and rest. The next morning, they show the guests some wondrous sights, starting with a mountain called Error, at the foot of which lie the remains of those who believed in the errors of Hymeneus and Philetus.
After their ordeal in Doubting Castle, the pilgrims get to enjoy the Shepherds’ hospitality and protection. This is fitting: in the Bible, shepherds symbolize those who watch over God’s people, with Jesus, the Good Shepherd, being the ultimate example. Hymeneus and Philetus are cited in the New Testament epistle 2 Timothy as false teachers who denied the resurrection of the body.
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Next the Shepherds show Christian and Hopeful a mountain named Caution. At a distance, they can see men, some of them blind, stumbling among tombs. The Shepherds explain that these men were blinded by Giant Despair and left to wander forever among the tombs. Christian and Hopeful cry at this.
Here, Christian and Hopeful see what might have become of them if they hadn’t resisted and escaped the Giant. The idea of wandering blindly is the opposite of what a pilgrim’s journey should be: purposeful, determined, and clear.
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Then the Shepherds show Christian and Hopeful a byway to Hell in the side of a hill. Many hypocrites, who appeared to be faithful pilgrims for a long time, ended up entering Hell here—people like Judas. This reminds Christian and Hopeful to ask God for strength.
The pilgrims get a sobering glimpse of Hell. This passage reveals that someone can appear to be a pilgrim, progressing a long distance, but still enter Hell, like Judas, Jesus’s betrayer and apostle. Hypocrisy always lurks, and all pilgrims should be wary of it in themselves and others.
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Finally, the Shepherds take Christian and Hopeful to the end of the mountains and offer them a perspective-glass through which they can see the Celestial City from a distance. Christian and Hopeful try to look through the glass, but they’re so shaken by the glimpse of Hell they’ve just had that they can only discern the City’s Gate. In farewell, the Shepherds give them a sheet of directions and warn them to look out for the Flatterer and not to sleep on the Enchanted Ground.
The Shepherds offer an encouraging glimpse of Heaven, but the contrast between Hell and Heaven is too much for the pilgrims to take. Even though the Celestial City is within sight, there are still obstacles to come—a pilgrim cannot let his or her guard down even in the later stages of the journey.
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