The Pilgrim’s Progress: Part 2: At the Porter’s House Summary & Analysis

Next the group arrives at the Porter’s Lodge, and though the women and the youngest son, James, beg Great-heart to stay with them, he must return to his Lord for the night. He will return to them if he can. Meanwhile, the porter, Mr. Watchful, invites them inside, and a girl named Humble-mind shares the joyful news that Christian’s wife has arrived. The rest of Humble-mind’s family gathers around to greet them. After supper and prayer, Christiana and Mercy are housed in Christian’s old room, and they hear joyful music as they fall asleep.

The next morning, Christiana says that Mercy laughed in her sleep last night. Mercy shares her dream. In it, she was grieving her hardness of heart, while others mocked her. Then, an angel comforted her and led her to a golden gate. Within, Mercy was welcomed by a man on a throne, and she thought she saw Christian there. Christiana agrees that this was a good and true dream, and that God can speak to the heart even when a person is asleep.

After Christiana and Mercy get up, the women of the house, Prudence, Piety, and Charity, invite them to stay at the Porter’s Lodge for a while. They agree, staying there for about a month. Prudence wants to see how Christiana has raised her sons, so she asks permission to catechize the boys. Christiana agrees, so Prudence begins with the youngest, James.

Prudence asks James who created him and who saves him. James answers both these questions by naming “God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.” Prudence also asks him how each person of the Trinity contributes to his salvation. When James again answers correctly, Prudence commends Christiana for teaching her children so well.

Prudence next catechizes the second youngest, Joseph, asking him questions about human nature, what salvation is, and how it occurs. Then she catechizes Samuel, asking him about Heaven and Hell. Finally, she catechizes the eldest, Matthew, asking him questions about God’s nature, the Bible, and the resurrection of the dead. Pleased with the results, Prudence exhorts the boys to continue learning from their mother and also to study the Bible for themselves.

About a week after the pilgrims first arrived at the Porter’s, a suitor named Mr. Brisk begins visiting Mercy. Mr. Brisk is well-to-do and pretends to be religious, but he cares more about the world than spiritual matters. For her part, Mercy spends most of her time making clothes for the poor. At first, this makes Mr. Brisk think Mercy would make a good housewife. But Mercy finds out that Mr. Brisk isn’t religious, and she loses interest in him.

The next time Mr. Brisk comes to visit and discovers that Mercy spends all her time making clothes for the poor, he is disappointed and decides that she wouldn’t make a good wife after all. In fact, he even tells others that though Mercy is pretty, she is a troubled person. Mercy is unbothered by this. She tells Prudence that she might have been married before now, but that men don’t like her preoccupation with the poor. Since it’s her nature to care for the poor, she is content to die unmarried.