Pilgrim’s Progress is a Christian allegory, meaning that it has two levels of significance. On the surface, the story follows a man named Christian as he leaves the City of Destruction and journeys to a place called the Celestial City, encountering all sorts of roadblocks and fearsome creatures along the way. But on a deeper level, Pilgrim’s Progress charts the journey of an average Christian person as they strive to leave behind their destructive, sinful ways and get to Heaven.
The story of Christian’s journey is actually a dream that the book’s unnamed narrator is having. In the narrator’s dream, Christian is carrying a heavy burden on his back—the weight of his sins—and doesn’t know how to get rid of it. He’s also struggling with the knowledge that his hometown, the City of Destruction, will soon be destroyed by a fire. When he tells his wife and kids this, though, they think he’s delirious, and they mock and reject him.
Christian soon meets a man named Evangelist who tells Christian that he must escape the impending destruction, and that he must flee by passing through a gate, called the Wicket-gate, in the distance. Taking Evangelist’s advice to heart, Christian runs eagerly toward the gate, ignoring the cries of his family and neighbors, who think he’s crazy.
Before he can reach the Wicket-gate, though, Christian accidentally plunges into a muddy bog called the Slough of Despond. Luckily, a man named Help pulls him out, explaining that sinners’ doubts and fears accumulate here in the bog. As he continues on his journey to the gate, Christian meets a gentleman named Worldly Wiseman who claims that Evangelist’s advice will only lead Christian into trouble. Instead of worrying about what the Bible says—the book Christian is carrying—Christian should go to the town of Morality and get his burden removed by a fellow named Legality. Christian begins to heed this advice, but his burden only grows heavier, and he fears being crushed by it entirely. Thankfully, Evangelist finds him again and explains that Christian has been misled; Legality cannot free Christian from his sins and would only trap him in heavier bondage.
When Christian finally arrives at the Wicket-gate, he knocks eagerly and identifies himself as a poor sinner. He receives a warm welcome from a man named Good-will, who directs Christian on the straight and narrow path to the place of Deliverance: the road that will end at the Celestial City, or Heaven. Christian sets out on this highway, stopping at the Interpreter’s House, where the Interpreter shows him a series of symbols of a Christian believer’s journey through life. After this, Christian runs to the Cross, where, as Good-will promised, he immediately loses his burden, which tumbles from his back and disappears into a tomb. Three angels, called the Shining Ones, greet him. One of them hands Christian a roll, or certificate, which he must hand in when he reaches the Celestial Gate. Christian runs on joyfully. Despite briefly misplacing his roll and then having to pass roaring lions, Christian soon arrives at a place called the Palace Beautiful, where he finds rest and encouragement and is sent on his way with a sword.
Christian now enters the Valley of Humiliation, where he is confronted by a hideous fiend named Apollyon. Apollyon tries to discourage Christian with reminders of his past sins, but Christian declares he’s been pardoned by Christ, which infuriates Apollyon. After a long, fierce combat, Christian wounds Apollyon with his sword. Then he enters a pitch-dark realm called the Valley of the Shadow of Death, which contains an entrance to Hell. He is heartened in his passage when he hears a fellow pilgrim, Faithful, praying in the distance. The next morning, he catches up with Faithful and hears about his new friend’s pilgrimage.
Soon, Christian and Faithful enter the ancient town of Vanity, which boasts a huge Fair selling every imaginable type of goods—including sinful ones. When the pilgrims draw attention by their resistance of the Fair’s attractions, the people of Vanity persecute them, and Faithful is cruelly executed. Christian escapes and is joined by a man named Hopeful, who witnessed Faithful’s death and decided to seek the Celestial City himself.
Christian and Hopeful wander astray onto the grounds of a Giant named Despair, who imprisons them in the filthy dungeon of his home, Doubting Castle. After being starved and repeatedly beaten, Christian grows depressed, but Hopeful encourages him with reminders of what they’ve overcome. When he resorts to prayer, Christian discovers a key which releases him and Hopeful from the dungeon.
After a brief detour off the path, Christian and Hopeful reach the Enchanted Ground. The air of the Enchanted Ground lulls people into a deadly sleep, so Christian asks Hopeful about his conversion in order to keep them both awake. They also try to exhort a man named Ignorance, who believes he’ll attain Heaven on the basis of his efforts and good intentions.
Then Christian and Hopeful enter a peaceful land called Beulah, which borders the Celestial City. To reach the City, they must cross the River of Death by the power of their faith. Christian finds the crossing terrifying, and Hopeful must keep his friend’s head above water. Once Christian begins to think of Jesus instead of his own sins, he suddenly finds the crossing easy. The pilgrims hand in their certificates and are joyously welcomed into the Celestial City, which gleams with gold and rings with music.
The second part of the book focuses on the pilgrimage of Christian’s wife, Christiana. Though Christiana had earlier mocked and rejected her husband’s pilgrimage, his death forces her to reconsider. After she receives a letter of invitation from Christ himself, she gathers her four sons and tearfully repents of her unkindness to their father. With their neighbor Mercy, the group sets out on their own pilgrimage. All are warmly received at the Wicket-gate. After receiving instruction at the Interpreter’s House, they journey onward in the company of a defender named Great-heart. When they reach the Cross, Christiana asks Great-heart to explain the Christian doctrine of salvation in greater detail.
Christiana, Mercy, and the boys stay at the Porter’s Lodge at Palace Beautiful for a month. While there, Mercy rejects a worldly suitor who doesn’t like her preoccupation with caring for the poor. Also, Christiana’s son Matthew, who’d earlier eaten some stolen fruit along the journey, grows sick and must take a purgative potion blended with tears of repentance.
Rejoined by Great-heart as guide, the group sets off with their hosts’ blessings. They pass through the Valley of Humiliation with ease, and in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, Great-heart kills a giant on their behalf. Then an elderly pilgrim named Honest joins their party.
Christiana’s group lodges for a while at an inn that belongs to a kindly man named Gaius. After slaying another giant, the group also gains pilgrims named Feeble-mind and Ready-to-halt. When they make their way to Vanity, they discover that pilgrims are no longer harshly persecuted here as Christian and Faithful were. After a long stay with a good man named Mnason, the pilgrims progress to Doubting Castle. Here, the men of the group kill the giants and destroy the Castle once and for all, rescuing pilgrims named Dispondency and Much-afraid in the process. Valiant-for-Truth, escaping robbers, and Stand-fast, fleeing a witch’s temptation, accompany the group the rest of the way.
Christiana’s group—which has swelled in size, as the boys and Mercy are all married now—reaches Beulah and settles on the outskirts of the Celestial City. Before long, Christian summons Christiana to Heaven. Leaving each pilgrim with encouraging words, she crosses the River and is joyfully led by angels to the Celestial Gate. One by one, each member of her party (with the exception of her sons’ families) is summoned by Christ and makes his or her way across the River to enter the rest and celebration in the heavenly City. Meanwhile, Christian’s and Christiana’s offspring remain behind, resulting in the Church’s flourishing.
