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The Pilgrim's Progress

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Novels

   CAPTION: Title The Pilgrim's Progress

   First edition title page
   First edition title page
     Author   John Bunyan
    Country   United Kingdom
    Language  English
    Genre(s)  Christian, Allegorical, Novel
   Publisher  Nathaniel Ponder (novel)
    Released  1678 - expanded 1679 - complete 1684 (11 editions)
              1693 (novel)
   Media type Print ( Hardback & Paperback) & Audio book
      ISBN    NA

   The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come by John
   Bunyan (published 1678) is an allegorical novel.

   It is regarded as one of the greatest classics of literature, and has
   been translated into more than 100 languages. The original English text
   consists of 108,260 words. It is divided into two parts, each of which
   reads as a continuous narrative, not being further divided into
   chapters.

   Bunyan wrote this book while imprisoned in 1675 for violations of the
   Conventicle Act, which prohibited the holding of religious services
   outside the auspices of the established Church of England. An expanded
   edition, with additions written after Bunyan was freed, appeared in
   1679. The Second Part appeared in 1684. There were eleven editions of
   the first part in John Bunyan's lifetime, published in 1678, 1679,
   1680, 1681, 1682, 1683, 1684, 1685, 1688, and there were two editions
   of the second part, published in 1684 and 1686.

Plot summary

   Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

First part

   The allegory tells of Christian, an everyman character, who makes his
   way from the "City of Destruction" (earth) to the "Celestial City" (
   heaven) of Zion. Christian finds himself weighed down by a great burden
   that he gets from reading a book (obviously the Bible). This burden,
   which would cause him to sink into Tophet ( hell), is Christian's
   acute, immediate concern that impels him to the crisis of what to do
   for deliverance. Evangelist suddenly comes by to direct Christian for
   deliverance to the "Wicket Gate," which is the direction indicated by a
   "shining light" that Christian thinks he sees. An insight into what the
   burden is allegorically is given by Help, Christian's rescuer from the
   Slough of Despond:

     This miry slough is such a place as cannot be mended: it is the
     descent whither the scum and filth that attends conviction for sin
     doth continually run, and therefore it is called the Slough of
     Despond.

   Christian's burden had caused him to sink even further down into the
   slough than one who might have been unburdened; hence, the burden
   allegorically is the weight of the conviction of one's sin. Christian
   leaves his home, his wife, and children to save himself when his
   attempts to persuade them to join him are frustrated.
   Burdened Christian flees from home
   Burdened Christian flees from home

   On his way to the Wicket Gate, Christian is led astray by Mr. Worldly
   Wiseman into seeking deliverance from his burden through the Law,
   supposedly with the help of a Mr. Legality and his son Civility in the
   village of Morality, rather than through Christ, allegorically by way
   of the Wicket Gate. Evangelist meets Christian before a
   life-threatening mountain, Mt. Sinai, that keeps Christian from getting
   to Mr. Legality's home. Evangelist shows Christian that he had sinned
   by turning out of his way, but assures him that he will be welcomed at
   the Wicket Gate. Christian turns around and goes to the Wicket Gate.

   At the Wicket Gate begins the "straight and narrow" King's Highway, and
   Christian is directed onto it by the gatekeeper Good-will. In the
   Second Part, Good-will is shown to be Jesus himself. Christian makes
   his way from there to the House of the Interpreter, where he is shown
   pictures and tableaux that portray or dramatize aspects of the
   Christian faith and life.

   From the House of the Interpreter, Christian finally reaches the "place
   of deliverance" (allegorically, the cross of Calvary and the open
   sepulcher of Christ), where the "straps" that bound Christian's burden
   to him break, and it rolls away into the open sepulcher. This event
   happens relatively early in the narrative: the immediate need of
   Christian at the beginning of the story being so quickly remedied.
   After Christian is relieved of his burden, he is greeted by three
   shining ones, who give him the greeting of peace, new garments, and a
   scroll as a passport into the Celestial City—these are allegorical
   figures indicative of Christian Baptism.

   Atop the Hill of Difficulty, Christian makes his first stop for the
   night at the House Beautiful, which is an allegory of the local
   Christian congregation. Christian spends three days here, and leaves
   clothed with armor (Eph. 6:11-18) , which stands him in good stead in
   his battle against Apollyon in the Valley of Humiliation. After the
   battle, he travels in the night through the Valley of the Shadow of
   Death, where in the midst of the gloom and terror he hears the words of
   the Twenty-third Psalm, spoken possibly by his friend Faithful:

     Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
     fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they
     comfort me. ( Psalms 23:4.)

   As he leaves this valley, the sun rises on a new day.

   Just outside the Valley of the Shadow of Death he meets Faithful, also
   a former resident of the City of Destruction, who accompanies him to
   Vanity Fair, where both are arrested and detained because of their
   disdain for the wares and business of the fair. Faithful is put on
   trial, and executed as a martyr. Hopeful, a resident of Vanity, takes
   Faithful's place to be Christian's companion for the rest of the way.

   Along a rough stretch of road, Christian and Hopeful leave the highway
   to travel on the easier By-Path Meadow, where they are forced to spend
   the night due to a rainstorm. In the morning they are captured by Giant
   Despair, who takes them to his Doubting Castle, where they are
   imprisoned, beaten and starved. The giant wants them to commit suicide,
   but they endure the ordeal until Christian realizes that a key he has
   called Promise will open all the doors and gates of Doubting Castle,
   from which they escape.

   The Delectable Mountains form the next stage of Christian and Hopeful's
   journey, where the shepherds show them some of the wonders of the place
   also known as "Immanuel's Land."

   On the way, Christian and Hopeful meet a lad named Ignorance, who has
   the vain hope of entering the Celestial City even though he believes in
   work's righteousness. A ferryman with the name, Vain Hope, ferries
   Ignorance across the River of Death, only for him to be turned away
   from the gates of Celestial City and cast into hell.

   Christian and Hopeful make it through the dangerous Enchanted Ground
   into the Land of Beulah, where they ready themselves to cross the River
   of Death on foot to Mount Zion and the Celestial City. Christian has a
   rough time of it, but Hopeful helps him over, and they are welcomed
   into the Celestial City.

Second part

   The Second Part of The Pilgrim's Progress presents the pilgrimage of
   Christian's wife, Christiana, their sons, and the maiden Mercy. They
   visit the same stopping places that Christian did, with the addition of
   Gaius' Inn between the Valley of the Shadow of Death and Vanity Fair,
   but they take a longer time to accommodate marriage and childbirth for
   Christiana and four sons and their wives. The hero of the story is
   Greatheart, the servant of the Interpreter, who is a pilgrim's guide to
   the Celestial City. He kills four giants, including Giant Despair, and
   participates in the slaying of a monster that terrorizes the city of
   Vanity.

   The passage of years in this second pilgrimage better allegorizes the
   journey of the Christian life. By using heroines, Bunyan in the Second
   Part illustrates how women as well as men can be brave pilgrims.

   Alexander M. Witherspoon, professor of English at Yale University,
   writes in a prefatory essay:

     Part II, which appeared in 1684, is much more than a mere sequel to
     or repetition of the earlier volume. It clarifies and reinforces and
     justifies the story of Part I. The beam of Bunyan's spotlight is
     broadened to include Christian's family and other, men, women, and
     children; the incidents and accidents of everyday life are more
     numerous, the joys of the pilgrimage tend to outweigh the hardships,
     and to the faith and hope of Part I is added in abundant measure
     that greatest of virtues, charity. The two parts of The Pilgrim's
     Progress in reality constitute a whole, and the whole is, without
     doubt, the most influential religious book ever written in the
     English language. [Pocket Books, Inc., edition, New York, 1957,
     Introduction, p. vi.]

   When the pilgrims end up in the Land of Beulah, they cross over the
   River of Death by appointment. As a matter of importance to Christians
   of Bunyan's persuasion reflected in the narrative of The Pilgrim's
   Progress, the last words of the pilgrims as they cross over the river
   are recorded. The four sons of Christian and their families do not
   cross, but remain for the support of the church in that place.

Characters in the First Part (main characters in capitals)

   Christian enters the Wicket Gate, opened by Goodwill. Engraving from a
   1778 edition printed in England.
   Christian enters the Wicket Gate, opened by Goodwill. Engraving from a
   1778 edition printed in England.
     * CHRISTIAN, whose name was Graceless at some time before in his
       life, the protagonist in the First Part, whose journey to the
       Celestial City is the plot of the story.
     * EVANGELIST, the religious man who puts Christian on the path to the
       Celestial City.
     * Obstinate, one of the two residents of The City of Destruction who
       run after Christian when he first sets out in order to bring him
       back
     * Pliable, the other of the two, who goes with Christian until both
       of them fall into the Slough of Despond. Pliable then returns home
       when he gets out of the slough.
     * Help, Christian's rescuer from the Slough of Despond
     * MR. WORLDLY WISEMAN, a resident of a place called Carnal Policy,
       who persuades Christian go out of his way to be helped by a Mr.
       Legality and then move to the City of Morality
     * GOODWILL, the keeper of the Wicket Gate through which one enters
       the "straight and narrow way" (also referred to as "the King's
       Highway") to the Celestial City. In the Second Part we find that
       this character is none other than Jesus Christ Himself.
     * Beelzebub, literally "Lord of the Flies," one of the devil's
       companion archdevils who had erected a fort near the Wicket Gate
       from which he and his companions could shoot arrows at those who
       are about to enter the Wicket Gate. He is also the Lord of Vanity
       Fair.
     * THE INTERPRETER, the one who has his House along the way as a rest
       stop for travelers to check in to see pictures and dioramas to
       teach them the right way to live the Christian life. He has been
       identified as the Holy Spirit. He also appears in the Second Part.
     * Shining Ones, the messengers and servants of "the Lord of the
       Hill," God. They are obviously the holy angels.
     * Formalist, one of two travelers on the King's Highway, who do not
       come in by the Wicket Gate but climb over the wall that encloses it
       at least from the hill and sepulcre up to the Hill Difficulty. He
       takes one of the two bypaths that avoid the Hill Difficulty but is
       lost
     * Hypocrisy, the companion of Formalist. He takes the other of the
       two bypaths and is also lost.
     * Timorous, one of two who try to persuade Christian to go back for
       fear of the chained lions near the House Beautiful. He is a
       relative of Mrs. Timorous of the Second Part. His companion is:
     * Mistrust
     * Watchful, the porter of the House Beautiful. He also appears in the
       Second Part, and receives "a gold angel" coin from Christiana for
       his kindness and service to her and her companions. "Watchful" is
       also the name of one of the Delectable Mountains shepherds.
     * Discretion, one of the maids of the House Beautiful, which
       represents the church
     * Prudence, another of the House Beautiful maidens. She appears in
       the Second Part
     * Piety, another of the House Beautiful maidens. She appears in the
       Second Part
     * Charity, another of the House Beautiful maidens. She appears in the
       Second Part
     * APOLLYON, literally "Destroyer," the lord of the City of
       Destruction and one of the devil's companion archdevils, who tries
       to force Christian to return to his domain and service. His battle
       with Christian takes place in the Valley of Humiliation, just below
       the House Beautiful. He appears as a dragonlike creature with
       scales and bats' wings. He takes darts from his body to throw at
       his opponents.
     * FAITHFUL, Christian's friend from the City of Destruction, who is
       also going on pilgrimage. Christian meets him just after he gets
       through the Valley of the Shadow of Death
     * Wanton, a temptress who tries to get Faithful to leave his journey
       to the Celestial City. She may be the popular resident of the City
       of Destruction, Madam Wanton, who hosted a house party for friends
       of Mrs. Timorous.
     * Adam the First, "the old man" (representing the flesh/carnality)
       who tries to persuade Faithful to leave his journey and come live
       with his 3 daughters: the Lust of the flesh, the Lust of the eyes,
       and the Pride of life.
     * Moses, the severe violent avenger (representing the Law, which
       knows no mercy) who tries to kill Faithful for his momentary
       weakness in wanting to go with Adam the First out of the way
     * Talkative, a hypocrite from the City of Destruction, who lived on
       Prating Row, known to Christian. Plainly put, he's all talk and no
       action, or spiritually put, he talks fervently of religion, but has
       no evident works as a result of true salvation.
     * Lord Hate-good, the judge who tries Faithful in Vanity Fair
     * Envy, the first witness against Faithful
     * Superstition, the second witness against Faithful
     * Pick-Thank, the third witness against Faithful
     * HOPEFUL, the resident of Vanity Fair, who takes Faithful's place as
       Christian fellow traveler. The character HOPEFUL poses an
       inconsistency in that there is a necessity imposed on the pilgrims
       that they enter the "King's Highway" by the Wicket Gate. HOPEFUL
       did not; however, of him we read: "... one died to bear testimony
       to the truth, and another rises out of his ashes to be a companion
       with Christian in his pilgrimage." HOPEFUL assumes FAITHFUL'S place
       by God's design. Theologically and allegorically it would follow in
       that "faith" is trust in God as far as things present are
       concerned, and "hope," biblically the same as "faith," is trust in
       God as far as things of the future are concerned. (HOPEFUL would
       follow FAITHFUL.) The other factor is Vanity Fair's location right
       on the straight and narrow way. IGNORANCE, in contrast to HOPEFUL,
       came from the Country of Conceit, that connected to the "King's
       Highway" by means of a crooked lane. IGNORANCE was told by
       CHRISTIAN and HOPEFUL that he should have entered the highway
       through the Wicket Gate.
     * Mr. By-Ends, a hypocritical pilgrim who perishes in the Hill Lucre
       silver mine with three of his friends. A "by-end" is a pursuit that
       is achieved indirectly. In the case of By-Ends and his companions,
       it is pursuing financial gain through religion.
     * Demas, a deceiver, who beckons to pilgrims at the Hill Lucre to
       come and join in the supposed silver mining going on in it.
     * GIANT DESPAIR, the owner of Doubting Castle, where Christians are
       imprisoned and murdered. He appears in the Second Part and is slain
       by GREAT-HEART
     * Giantess Diffidence, Despair's wife. She appears in the Second
       Part, and is slain by OLD HONEST
     * Knowledge, one of the shepherds of the Delectable Mountains
     * Experience, another of the Delectable Mountains shepherds
     * Watchful, another of the Delectable Mountains shepherds
     * Sincere, another of the Delectable Mountains shepherds
     * IGNORANCE, "a brisk young lad," who joins the "King's Highway" by
       way of the "crooked lane" that comes from his native country,
       called "Conceit." He follows Christian and Hopeful and on two
       occasions talks with them. He believes that he will be received
       into the Celestial City because of his doing good works in
       accordance with God's will. Christian and Hopeful try to set him
       right, but they fail. He gets a ferryman, Vain-Hope, to ferry him
       across the River of Death rather than cross it on foot as one is
       supposed to, but he is thrown from the Celestial City gate through
       one of the doorways (by-ways) to hell at the direction of God, the
       King of the Celestial City.
     * The Flatterer, a deceiver who leads Christian and Hopeful out of
       their way, when they fail to look at the roadmap given them by the
       Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains.
     * Atheist, a mocker of CHRISTIAN and HOPEFUL, who goes the opposite
       way on the "King's Highway" because he boasts that he knows that
       God and the Celestial City do not exist.

Characters in the Second Part (main ones, in capitals)

     * Mr. Sagacity, a guest narrator who meets Bunyan himself in his new
       dream and recounts the events of the Second Part up to the arrival
       at the Wicket Gate.
     * CHRISTIANA, wife of CHRISTIAN, who leads her four sons and
       neighbour MERCY on pilgrimage
     * MATTHEW, CHRISTIAN and CHRISTIANA'S eldest son, who marries MERCY
     * SAMUEL, second eldest son, who marries Grace, Mr. Mnason's daughter
     * JOSEPH, third eldest son, who marries Martha, Mr. Mnason's daughter
     * JAMES, youngest son, who marries Phoebe, Gaius's daughter
     * MERCY, CHRISTIANA's neighbour, who goes with her on pilgrimage and
       marries MATTHEW
     * Mrs. Timorous, relative of the Timorous of the First Part, who
       comes with MERCY to see CHRISTIANA before she sets out on
       pilgrimage
     * Ill-favoured Ones, two evil characters CHRISTIANA sees in her
       dream, whom she and MERCY actually encounter when they leave the
       Wicket Gate
     * Innocent, a young serving maid of the INTERPRETER, who answers the
       door of the house when Christiana and her companions arrive, and
       who conducts them to the garden bath, which signifies Christian
       baptism.
     * MR. GREAT-HEART, the guide and body-guard sent by the INTERPRETER
       with CHRISTIANA and her companions from his house to their
       journey's end. He proves to be one of the main protagonists in the
       Second Part
     * Giant Grim, who "backs the [chained] lions" near the House
       Beautiful, slain by GREAT-HEART. He is also known as Bloody-man.
     * Humble-Mind, one of the maidens of the House Beautiful, who makes
       her appearance in the Second Part.
     * Mr. Brisk, a suitor of MERCY's, who gives up on her when he finds
       out that she makes clothing only to give away to the poor
     * Mr. Skill, the physician called to the House Beautiful to cure
       Matthew of his illness in eating the apples of Beelzebub
     * Giant Maul, a giant that GREAT-HEART kills as the pilgrim's leave
       the Valley of the Shadow of Death
     * OLD HONEST, a pilgrim that joins them, a welcome companion to
       GREAT-HEART.
     * Mr. Fearing, a pilgrim whom GREAT-HEART had "conducted" to the
       Celestial City in an earlier pilgrimage. He was noted for his
       timidness. He is Mr. Feeble-Mind's uncle.
     * Gaius, an innkeeper the pilgrim's stay with for some years after
       they leave the Valley of the Shadow of Death. He gives his daughter
       Phebe to JAMES in marriage. The lodging fee for his inn is paid by
       the Good Samaritan.
     * Giant Slay-Good, a giant that enlists the help of evil-doers on the
       King's Highway to abduct pilgrims, murder, and consume them.
     * Mr. Feeble-Mind, rescued from Slay-Good by Mr. Great-Heart, who
       joins Christiana's company of pilgrims
     * Phoebe, Gaius's daughter, who marries JAMES.
     * Mr. Ready-to-Halt, a pilgrim who meets CHRISTIANA'S train of
       pilgrims at Gaius's door, and becomes the companion of Mr.
       Feeble-mind, to whom he gives one of his crutches.
     * Mr. Mnason, a resident of the town of Vanity, who puts up the
       pilgrims for a time, and gives his daughters Grace and Martha in
       marriage to SAMUEL and JOSEPH respectively.
     * Grace, Mnason's daughter, who marries SAMUEL
     * Martha, Mnason's daughter, who marries JOSEPH
     * Mr. Despondency, a rescued prisoner from Doubting Castle
     * Much-Afraid, his daughter
     * Mr. VALIANT-FOR-TRUTH, a pilgrim they find all bloody, with his
       sword in his hand, after leaving the Delectable Mountains
     * Mr. Stand-Fast, a pilgrim found while praying for deliverance from
       Madame Bubble
     * Madame Bubble, witch whose enchantments made the Enchanted Ground
       what it is, who is the adulterous woman mentioned in the biblical
       book of Proverbs

Places in The Pilgrim's Progress

   A map of the places Pilgrim travels through on his progress; a fold-out
   map from an edition printed in England in 1778
   A map of the places Pilgrim travels through on his progress; a fold-out
   map from an edition printed in England in 1778
     * City of Destruction, Christian's home, representative of the world
       (cf. Isaiah 19:18)
     * Slough of Despond, the miry swamp on the way to the Wicket Gate,
       one of the hazards of the journey to the Celestial City. In the
       First Part, Christian falling into it, sinks further under the
       weight of his sins (his burden) and his sense of their guilt.
     * Mount Sinai, a frightening mountain near the Village of Morality
       that threatens all who would go there
     * Wicket Gate, the entry point of the straight and narrow way to the
       Celestial City. Pilgrims are required to enter the way by way of
       the Wicket Gate.
     * House of the Interpreter, a type of spiritual museum to guide the
       pilgrims to the Celestial City
     * Hill and Sepulchre', surmounted by three crosses, emblematic of
       Calvary and the tomb of Christ
     * Hill Difficulty, both the hill and the road up is called
       "Difficulty"; it is flanked by two treacherous byways "Danger" and
       "Destruction." There are three choices: CHRISTIAN takes
       "Difficulty" (the right way), and Formalist and Hypocrisy take the
       two other ways, which prove to be fatal dead ends.
     * House Beautiful, a fine home that serves as rest stop for pilgrims
       to the Celestial City. It apparently sits atop the Hill Difficulty.
       From the House Beautiful one can see forward to the Delectable
       Mountains.
     * Valley of Humiliation, the valley the other side of the Hill
       Difficulty, where Christian meets Apollyon. This valley had been a
       delight to the "Lord of the Hill" Jesus Christ in his "state of
       humiliation."
     * Valley of the Shadow of Death, a treacherous valley with a quick
       sand bog on one side and a deep chasm/ditch on the other side of
       the King's Highway going through it (cf. Psalm 23:4).
     * Gaius's inn, a rest stop in the Second Part
     * Vanity and Vanity Fair, a city through which the King's Highway
       passes where a yearlong fair is held
     * Hill Lucre, location of a reputed silver mine, that proves to be
       the place where By-Ends and his companions are lost
     * Plain Ease, a pleasant area traversed by the pilgrims
     * By-Path Meadow, the place leading to the grounds of Doubting Castle
     * Doubting Castle, the home of Giant Despair and his wife; only one
       key could open it, the key Promise.
     * The Delectable Mountains, know as "Immanuel's Land." Lush country
       from whose heights one can see many delights and curiosities. It is
       inhabited by sheep and their shepherds, and from Mount Clear one
       can see the Celestial City.
     * The Enchanted Ground, an area through which the King's Highway
       passes that has air that makes pilgrims want to stop to sleep. If
       one goes to sleep in this place, one never wakes up
     * The Land of Beulah, a lush garden area just this side of the River
       of Death
     * The River of Death, the dreadful river that surrounds Mount Zion,
       deeper or shallower depending on the faith of the one traversing it
     * The Celestial City, the "Desired Country" of pilgrims, heaven, the
       dwelling place of the "Lord of the Hill," God. It is situated on
       Mount Zion.

   Spoilers end here.

The Pilgrim's Progress in Literature and Culture

   The frontispiece and title-page from an edition printed in England in
   1778
   The frontispiece and title-page from an edition printed in England in
   1778

   The allegory of this book has antecedents in a large number of
   Christian devotional works that speak of the soul's path to Heaven,
   from the Lyke-Wake Dirge forwards. Bunyan's allegory stands out above
   his predecessors because of his simple and effective, if somewhat
   naïve, prose style, steeped in Biblical texts and cadences. He
   confesses his own naïveté in the verse prologue to the book:

          ". . . I did not think
          To shew to all the World my Pen and Ink
          In such a mode; I only thought to make
          I knew not what: nor did I undertake
          Thereby to please my Neighbour; no not I;
          I did it mine own self to gratifie."

   John Bunyan himself wrote a popular hymn that encourages a hearer to
   become a pilgrim like Christian: All Who Would Valiant Be.

   Because of the widespread longtime popularity of this classic,
   Christian's hazards—whether originally from Bunyan or borrowed by him
   from the Bible—the "Slough of Despond," the "Hill Difficulty," "Valley
   of the Shadow of Death," "Doubting Castle," and the "Enchanted Ground",
   his temptations (the wares of "Vanity Fair" and the pleasantness of
   "By-Path Meadow"), his foes ("Apollyon" and "Giant Despair"), and the
   helpful stopping places he visits (the "House of the Interpreter," the
   "House Beautiful," the "Delectable Mountains," and the "Land of
   Beulah") as phrases have become proverbial in English. For example,
   "One has one's own Slough of Despond to trudge through."

   The Pilgrim's Progress' explicitly Protestant theology also made it
   much more popular than its predecessors. Finally, Bunyan's gifts and
   plain style breathe life into the abstractions of the anthropomorphized
   temptations and abstractions that Christian encounters and converses
   with on his course to Heaven. Samuel Johnson said that "this is the
   great merit of the book, that the most cultivated man cannot find
   anything to praise more highly, and the child knows nothing more
   amusing." Three years after its publication (1681), it was reprinted in
   colonial America, and was widely read in the Puritan colonies. It went
   through eleven editions during the remainder of Bunyan's lifetime
   (1678-1688).

   The book was the basis of an opera by Ralph Vaughan Williams, premiered
   in 1951; see The Pilgrim's Progress (opera).

   E. E. Cummings also makes numerous references to it in his prose work,
   The Enormous Room.

   "The Celestial Railroad", a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne,
   recreates Christian's journey in Hawthorne's time. Progressive thinkers
   have replaced the footpath by a railroad, and pilgrims may now travel
   under steam power. The journey is considerably faster, but ultimately
   no more sure than before.

   John Buchan was an admirer of Bunyan, and Pilgrim's Progress features
   significantly in his third Richard Hannay novel, Mr Standfast, which
   also takes its title from one of Bunyan's characters.

   Alan Moore in his League of Extraordinary Gentlemen enlists The
   Pilgrim's Progress protagonist, Christian, as a member of the earliest
   version of this group, Prospero's Men. This group disbanded in 1690
   after Christian found his "heavenly country" and departed this world.

   Danzig's Mother video begins with the quote “Then I saw there was a way
   to Hell, even from the gates of Heaven” .

   It also figures prominently in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, whose
   protagonist Jo reads it at the outset of the novel, and tries to follow
   the good example of Bunyan's Christian.

   C. S. Lewis wrote a book inspired by The Pilgrim's Progress called The
   Pilgrim's Regress, in which a character named John follows a vision to
   escape from The Landlord, a less friendly version of The Owner in
   Pilgrim's Regress. It is an allegory of C. S. Lewis' own jouney from a
   religious childhood to a pagan adulthood in which he rediscovers his
   Christian God at last.

   The character of Billy Pilgrim in Slaughterhouse-5: The Children's
   Crusade, by Kurt Vonnegut, is a clear homage to a similar journey to
   enlightenment experienced by Christian, although Billy's is a journey
   which leads him to an existential acceptance of life and of a fatalist
   human condition. Vonnegut's parallel to The Pilgrim's Progress is
   deliberate and evident in Billy's surname.

   Ambitious animation studio Halas and Batchelor were working on a film
   version of The Pilgrim's Progress, but the project was shelved.

   A 3D animated adaptation of the story can be found on YouTube.com

Editions

     * James Clarke & Co Ltd, 1987, ISBN 0-7188-2164-5
     * Oxford at the Clarendon Press, edited by James Wharey and Roger
       Sharrock, providing a critical edition of all 13 editions of both
       parts from the author's lifetime, 1960, ISBN 0-19-811802-3
     * Penguin Books, London, 1987, ISBN 0-14-043004-0

Abridged Editions

     * The Children's Pilgrim's Progress. The story taken from the work by
       John Bunyan. New York: Sheldon and Company, 1866.
     * John Bunyan's Dream Story: the Pilgrim's Progress retold for
       children and adapted to school reading by James Baldwin. New York:
       American Book Co., 1913. This adaptation excludes all religious
       elements of the work.

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