The Pilgrim's Progress
The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come is an allegorical book by the English Baptist preacher and writer John Bunyan . It is a Christian edification book published in February 1678. The book, which has been translated into 200 languages and is still published today, is one of the most important works of English Christian literature.
Bunyan wrote the book during a total of twelve years in Bedfordshire County Prison, to which he had been sentenced for violating the Convention Act, which criminalized preaching outside the Anglican state church.
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The book describes in two parts (I 1678, II 1684) as an allegory a journey into the hereafter.
Christian, a simple person, is on his way from the “city of destruction” (the earthly world) to the “heavenly city” of Zion (into heaven ). There is a heavy burden ( sin ) on Christ . When he learns in a book (the Bible ) that this burden leads him to Tofet ( hell ), he worries about what needs to be done for salvation. He leaves his home to save his wife and children.
On his way he meets numerous allegorical figures from the realm of the Christian world of faith who try to stop him or move him forward. Before he reaches the heavenly city, which he reaches in the first volume, Christ has to deal with numerous stations.
The second volume deals with the fate of the retarded woman and children.
A brief summary follows. The overabundance of allegorical images remains completely incomprehensible without a direct engagement with Bunyan's writing.
Part 1
Departure and first journey
(Bunyan describes what he saw of the Christian's pilgrimage, in the English original "Christian", in the translations "Christ" or "Christian", as a dream).
In a dream he sees a man, dressed in rags, a book in his hand and a large load on his back. The man is reading the book, and while he is reading he cries and shivers. Finally he exclaims: "What should I do?" He returns home, says goodbye to his wife and children, and leaves. He asks: "What should I do to be saved?" Evangelist gives him a roll of parchment with the inscription: "Flee from the anger that is to come." Evangelist points with his finger across an endless field to a small gate in the far back a bright light: “Keep an eye on this light and walk straight towards it; then you will see the gate. There, if you knock on it, you will be told what to do. «. Two neighbors accompany him: stubbornness (engl. Obstinate) and Willig (English Pliable.)
Stur returns after a short discussion about, Willig continues with, but returns to the swamp of fear also. Helfer shows Christ the way and helps him out.
Then he meets world Klug from the place the wisdom of men , saying: The way the Evangelist showed is dangerous and difficult; In the village of Moral the Lord Legal , he will help you shed the burden, his son Polite will also help. At the dangerous mountain of the law, Sinai , Christ is afraid, but the Evangelist shows Christ the right way again.
Through the narrow gate
Christ now goes to the gate, above which it says: "Knock and it will be opened to you." At the gate stands Gutwillig , who opens and pulls him quickly through - but arrows are shot from the castle under Beelzebub behind it . Christ willingly shows the narrow path and points to the boom's house . Christ knocks there and asks for advice. The interpreter says, “Come in! I will show you what can be of use to you. «
First room with the mural of the right, true leader, the Bible in hand, the world behind his back, a golden crown above him.
Second room: Law and Gospel; Dust means sin, law sweeps with a broom for free, because the dust is only stirred up, but the sprinkled water, which means the gospel, finally creates the cleansing.
Third room: The children Passion and patience , Passion is very dissatisfied, but patience sits quietly there.
Fourth room: the effect of grace. The fire in front of a wall signifies the working of grace in the heart; water comes from the devil for extinguishing, but Christ is constantly adding the oil of grace so that the fire does not go out.
Fifth room: spiritual battle. A palace into which many want to enter, but armed men prevent it, only one brave man who receives many wounds can make it.
Sixth room: the cage of despair. A pitch-dark room in which a man sits in an iron cage because he has sinned against the light of the word and the goodness of God (sin against the Holy Spirit).
Seventh room: a trembling man who rose from sleep and dreamed of his condemnation in judgment of the last time.
Farewell: The interpreter said goodbye to Christ and wishes him the company of the Comforter (Holy Spirit) so that he can come to the heavenly city.
To the palace beauty
The street is fenced in on both sides by the Heil wall. So Christ comes to the hill with the cross. At the foot of the hill is a grave; there the burden loosens from Christ's shoulders and falls into the grave.
Then come three angels called shining figures. The first forgives Christian all of his sins. The second clothes him again, and the third gives him a mark on his forehead and a sealed scroll ( testimony ) to hand in at the gate of heaven.
The mountain of hardship
In a valley away from the path, three men asleep with shackles on their feet lie: simple , lazy and conceited . Christ wakes them up and offers help, but nobody takes it.
Then come two men who have climbed over the wall: formalists and hypocrites who want to be saved by following the law.
At the foot of a hill with a spring, two paths branch off. The narrow path leads the slope hardship up; Christ drinks from the spring.
Formalists and hypocrites follow the paths that branch off at ground level: one takes the path of danger , that leads into a large forest; the other goes the path of Ververben , which leads into a landscape full of dark, towering mountains, and there it falls and remains forever.
Christ goes up the mountain. Halfway through, he rests in a shady arbor, falls asleep, and he loses the scroll. He walks on, and on the summit he meets fearful and suspicious who turn back because of dangers on the way.
Christian notices the loss of the scroll, has to go back to look for it, he goes to the arbor and finds it there.
Then Christ sees the palace beauty . The Porter Vigilant helps him through the lions chained in front of it.
Palace Beauty
The virgin insight who lives there leads Christ to the other virgins wisdom , fear of God and love with whom he talks.
On the second day they show him the sights of the house: The archive with records from ancient times - the family tree of the Lord of the Mountain, exploits of his servants, etc. Old and new, prophecies and predictions.
On the third day they show him the armaments room with items of equipment for pilgrims: sword, shield, helmet, breastplate, prayers without ceasing, shoes; Tools: Moses' staff, hammer and nail with which Jael killed Sisera, Gideon's jugs, trumpets and torches, Samgar's ox sticks, Samson's donkey jaws, David's slingshot, etc.
On the fourth day there is a tour of the path from the roof of the house in Immanuel's land . Christ is dressed in armor.
Valley of humiliation and the shadow of death
Valley of Humiliation,
insight , fear of God , love and wisdom accompany him to the foot of the mountain and give him a loaf of bread, a bottle of wine and a bag of raisins.
Fight with Apollyon
Christ must fight the monster Apollyon until it escapes. Christ's wounds are healed with leaves from the tree of life.
Valley of the Shadows of Death
Christian meets two men who are descendants of those scouts who reported badly about the Promised Land.
On the way there is a deep ditch on the right and a dangerous swamp on the left. The way here is extremely narrow; Christ must go in twilight and darkness (it is evening). In the middle of the valley lies the mouth of hell close to the roadside.
Christ shields himself with the weapon of praying without ceasing .
A horde of monsters comes up to him; Christ cries "I will walk in the strength of the Lord!"; so that they back away.
A fellow pilgrim says in the dark: “And although I have already hiked in the dark valley, I fear no misfortune; because you are with me. ”
In the morning it becomes apparent that the second part of the valley of the shadow of death is even more dangerous. The path is full of ropes, traps, snares and nets, pits, stumbling blocks and potholes.
At the end of the valley there is a cave with the giants Pope and Heide, who are now dead or old and weak. In front of it lie the remains of the people who were cruelly killed by them.
Faithful and babbler
Christ meets Faithful , and the two tell each other about their journey so far.
Then Christ meets a pilgrim named Babbler . He lives up to his name: His father is talkative and he lived in Schwatzgasse . Schwätzer's faith consists only of words.
The vanity market
Christian and Faithful to meet again on Evangelist , his appeal for loyalty and above the vanity fair warning.
So they come to the vanity market .
The devils and demons Beelzebub , Apollyon and Legion had set up this market in the city of Vanity . Here there are: houses, lands, trades, offices, dignities, promotions, titles, countries, kingdoms, merrymaking, amusements and enjoyments of all kinds, such as whores, women, wives, husbands, children, masters, servants, life, blood, bodies , Souls, silver, gold, pearls, precious stones, etc .; further: jugglers, cheaters, gamblers, fools, monkeys, rascals and villains of all kinds to visit, free of charge: thefts, murders, fornication, perjury, everything in blood red. There is an uproar over the pilgrims' different clothing and their different language, the language of Canaan.
The pilgrims come to court, are interrogated, beaten, smeared with dirt and put on display in a cage.
Judge Hassgut will charge them in court ; the charges are: disruption of trade, riot and quarrel, disregard of the law, inducing others to adopt highly dangerous beliefs.
Prosecutors are: envy , superstition and flatterers .
Schmeichler accuses: The pilgrims insulted Prince Beelzebub, and spoke contemptuously of his friends, namely Mr. Old Man , lust for the flesh , lush , lust for fame , fornication , curmudgeon etc.
Faithful , on the other hand, says: The Prince of this city and all his followers belong in hell . Sworn before the Court are: Blind man , ill-disposed , Mischievous , lecher , raunchy , hot-headed , arrogance , hostility , liar , Cruel , obscurantist and irreconcilable .
Faithful is sentenced to death.
Getreus martyrdom
True is cruelly tortured and executed, but brought in a car with a trumpet through the clouds in the fastest way for Pearly Gates.
Christian has to stay in prison but after a while escapes from it.
The dangerous silver mine
Christian receives a new companion: Hopeful , who saw Christian and Faithful in the market. where he was impressed by her firm belief.
Byways and buddies
Both meet the man byways from the city of Schöneworte .
Byways told by his relatives reverse , weather vane , Fine words , Aalglatt , Janus , Any , pastor double tongue , wife of falsehood .
Sideways separates from Christ and Hopeful , and continues with Haltewelt , Geldlieb and Sparmann . Then Mr. Haltewelt discusses with Christ .
The pilgrims come to a small, lovely realm called rest . You see the mountain profit with a silver mine, where a detour is inviting, but which usually ends fatally.
Demas invites you to the silver mine, Christ rejects him, but byways and companions disappear into it.
Christian and Hopeful then see the pillar of salt that was Lot's wife.
The path continues along the stream of living water . But then Christ and Hopeful climb over the fence on the way, go into the astray and meet self-confidence .
Confidence falls into a deep pit in the dark. Because of a terrible thunderstorm and flood, Christ and Hopeful do not come back to the road.
The sleeping place of Christ and Hopeful lies on the land of the giant Despair ; this kidnapped both of them to his castle of doubt .
The wife of the giant called distrust and bring the giant despair to Christian and Hopeful to beat. He wants to get both of them to kill themselves. Christian and praying hopefully .
Christ opens all locks with the key promise so that both can flee. You will then put up a warning sign along the way.
The lovely mountains
Christ and Hope come to the lovely mountains - Immanuel's land .
Christians and hopeful are the guests of the shepherds, wise , experienced , vigilant and sincere ; the shepherds show the top of the mountain to be error , and the mountain to be a warning .
The shepherds then show the side entrance to Hell, and then to the summit of the high mountain Klar . They want to show the pilgrims through a telescope the gate and some of the glory of the heavenly city.
The first shepherd gives Christ and Hope full directions. The second warns them about the flatterer . The third admonished her not to sleep on the bewitched ground . The fourth wished them God's guidance on the way.
The story of Kleinglaube
Christian and Hopeful , ignorant of the land meet imagination .
Christian and Hopeful see apostate from the city rubbish tied up by seven devils with seven strong ropes.
Christ tells of small faith from the city of Sincerely .
About the enchanted ground
At a fork in the road a sinister fellow, flatterer , in a brightly colored robe leads the two, Christian and hopeful , on a wrong path. He catches her in a net, but a radiant figure chastises and sets her free.
Christian and Hopeful then talk to atheist who has turned his back on Zion.
Christians , hopeful and ignorant come because they don't wander alone, but talk to each other, safe and sound about the reason that otherwise makes you sleepy.
The heavenly city
Christ and Hope walk on alone.
Christian and hopeful talk about time servants , from the place Merciless with honesty next to Kehrum .
Christ tells about how the relapse happens.
A relaxing walk through the land of weddings follows . Christian and Hopeful ask the gardener and are instructed by two brilliant men.
The two pilgrims finally have to cross the river without a bridge shortly before their destination . Hopefully the pilgrim Christ who goes down is keeping afloat.
Welcome to the heavenly city of
Christ and full of hope are lifted up the mountain by the two radiant men and led to the gate.
Christian and Hopeful receive white robes and are received.
Unknowingly , a ferryman brings vain hope across the river by boat , but he has no testimony (sealed scroll) and is therefore stuck in the door in the mountain wall.
Enough
Bunyan writes at the end that he wakes up and realizes that he had been dreaming. He warns against wrong interpretation and points to a new dream for the unteachable.
The pilgrimage dressed in a dream. Second part
Although his wife and children did not persuade Christ to come with him when he left, they packed their things and followed him. In a dream, Christian sees her husband in immortality.
A visitor hidden brings her a letter in which she is asked to go to the narrow gate. She was to deliver the letter at the gate of the heavenly city.
The neighbors Mrs. Fearful , Clueless and Careless want to dissuade them from their plan.
On the way to the gate
Christian goes out with her children and the neighbor Merciful . With the help of stepping stones they come through the swamp of despondency .
Christin knocks at the gate, but only a big dog barks, which she is afraid of, finally the astonished doorman opens and lets a trombone blow a cheer.
With the intercession of Christ , Merciful is also admitted.
The porter then explains that the dog belongs to the evil lord of the nearby castle and should keep pilgrims away. The porter then showed the right way and the pilgrims move on.
The boom's house
There is a wall next to the path, and behind it is a garden that belongs to the evil castle owner. Two men come from there and want to rape the women. At her screams, help comes from the gatehouse, which is not far away.
The pilgrims then come to the interpreter's house and are greeted by the Innocent maid and by the interpreter .
The boom shows you all the rooms that Christ had already seen, and more: in one room someone is working with a dung rake, in the next, splendid room there is only a spider sitting on the wall, and in the other there is a hen with chicks and finally they see a room where a sheep is being slaughtered.
Finally the boom shows the garden and a field.
The next morning they have to bathe and are given a seal and new clothes.
Heart of courage
The pilgrims are then given the armed courageous companion for the journey to Haus Prachtvoll .
Mutherz tells them the events of Christ's journey so that they don't have to be afraid or go astray.
House splendid
With courage , they got past the lions well. A giant, Grimm or bloodlust called pilgrims wants to prevent from going on, but Mutherz defeated him.
You will then arrive at the Magnificent Palace , where Courageous Heart says goodbye.
The residents of the house, wisdom , fear of God and love invite the pilgrims to stay a few more days.
Wisdom asks the children, first Jacob, the youngest, then Joseph, Samuel and Matthew as the oldest, about the doctrines of the faith.
A gentleman Flott makes Merciful the yard. Herr Flott looks pious, but he's worldly. He doesn't believe in mercy either, and so he finally lets go of it.
Matthew falls ill and the doctor, Mr. Clever, fetched. He brings a medicine with him that he also gives the pilgrims for their onward journey.
The pilgrims send a message to the boom's house and ask for Courage to accompany them, for whose arrival they are waiting.
In the valley of humiliation and the shadow of death
Fear of God and wisdom accompany them a little. There is an inscription on the Valley of Humiliation , reporting the missteps and struggles of Christ so that others may be warned. You will also visit the site of the fight with Apollyon. During the day, they pass through the valley of the death shadows unscathed, even if they have to endure many dangers.
You will then meet the old pilgrim Redlich with whom you have conversations.
In Gaius's inn
Riddles and jokes are told on the table of Gajus. Gajus points out dangers along the way before the pilgrims set out. On the way they free a faint-hearted man from the hands of the giant enemy of virtue . Heart of courage destroys the giant.
You go back to the hostel. Matthew and Merciful marry, likewise Jacob marries the daughter of Gaius, Phoebe. Then they stay in Gaius' house for a while.
When we say goodbye, Mr. Hinkfuß approaches on crutches, who is also on a pilgrimage (and later, like everyone else, arrives in the heavenly city).
They make up on the way: Mutherz , Redlich , then Christian with their children, then fainthearted and Hinkfuß .
Before the city of vanity , they stop at Mnason's house. They speak with his friends repentant , holy , Frommhold , lies fear and ruefully .
For a long time they stay in the market town in the house of Mnason, who finally gives Christin's son Samuel his daughter Gnade and Christin's son Joseph his daughter Martha as his wife. The martyrdom of Getreu had frightened people in vanity and made them friendlier.
But a monster in the nearby forest had fetched children from the city and is being fought by the pilgrims so that it can no longer cause any damage.
The lovely mountains
After leaving the house of Mnason, the pilgrims walk past the mountain profit with the silver mine. Christin advises her four daughters-in-law to leave their children in the lovely mountains in care, because the king himself had a house built for small children and orphans.
Mutherz , old Redlich and Christin's four sons then destroyed the Zweifelsburg and the giants in it.
The shepherds of the lovely mountains lead the pilgrims to a palace in which they live.
The shepherds show pilgrims the mountain of miracles , the mountain of innocence , the mountain of love , and finally come to a place where they see a man named Tor and a man named Idiot .
Merciful , who is pregnant, wants the special mirror from the shepherds that she receives. Then the women of the pilgrims receive jewelry and beautiful things from the shepherds.
You meet the bloody defeated truth fighter . His wounds are treated and he walks on with the pilgrims.
The way to the heavenly city
By walking side by side in pairs and encouraging each other, the pilgrims overcome the enchanted ground . At the end of this, they meet steadfast .
Soon after, they come to the land of marriage . Here you can finally rest.
In the city there, Christ received a message that she was expected in the heavenly city. So let her be the first to cross over. Then she blesses her children and admonishes her sons and daughters-in-law to be ready for the day when the messenger would come to them. Little by little the pilgrims are called to the heavenly city. Everyone crosses the river and is welcomed there. They enter through the city gate one by one.
Bunyan writes at the end that he has not yet been able to see how Christin's children have passed over with their wives and children. He had heard it said that they were still alive so that the church where they live could still grow. Bunyan announces that it will provide further reports when the opportunity arises. Closing word: Farewell.
Characteristic shapes
Characters in the first part of the book
- Christ (Christian), whose name used to be “Without Mercy”, is the protagonist in the first part of the book; his journey to the heavenly city is the plot of the story.
- Evangelist is the pious man who brings Christ to the heavenly city. He shows Christ a book that the reader would have to assume is the Bible.
- Stubborn (or stubbornly, Obstinate) is one of the two residents of the city of Destruction, which runs behind Christ forth to persuade him to return.
- Willig (Pliable), the other of the two who go with Christ. Both fall into the quagmire of despondency. When Willig comes out of the swamp, he immediately returns home.
- Helfer (Helper), Christ's savior from the swamp of despondency.
- Mr. Worldly Wiseman, someone from a place called human wisdom (in the original "Carnal Policy" = carnal behavior, corresponding to the contrast between flesh and spirit highlighted in the Gospel of John), who persuades Christ to go astray and get away from it to have a gentleman legally assisted in the village morality.
- Willingly (goodwill), the guardian of the narrow gate, "straight and narrow path" through which one enters the (also called "silver bullet" - called "King's Highway"), and leading to the heavenly city. In the second part it becomes clear (because he gives forgiveness) that this allegorical figure is none other than Jesus Christ himself.
- Beelzebub (literally "Lord of the Flies") is one of the companions of the arch devil who has built a castle very close to the gate. From there he and his companions can shoot arrows at those who have entered the gate. He is also the master of the Vanity Fair. Christ calls him "captain" of the devil Apollyon.
- The interpreter who opened his house on the way as a resting place for travelers. He teaches the right way to a Christian life through pictures and dioramas. He may be identified with the Holy Spirit. The boom also appears in the second part.
- Radiant (Shining Ones), the messengers and ministers of the "Lord of the Mountains" (Lord of the Hill), God. They are obviously holy angels of God.
- Formalist , one of two travelers traveling together on the pilgrimage route (King's Highway), who did not come through the gate but climbed over the wall. He comes with me to the mountain of hardship. He and his companion Hypocrisy come from the land of Hoffart (Vainglory). He later takes one of two side routes to avoid the mountain of hardship, but goes into forlornness.
- Hypocrites (Hypocrisy), the companion of formalist. He takes the other of the two byways and gets lost too.
- Scary (Timorous), one of the two, to convince the Christian to reverse because of the excessive danger of the lions on the road in front of the palace beauty. He is a relative of the woman Timorous in the second part. His companion is
- Mistrust .
- Vigilant (Watchful), the doorman of the Palace Beauty (House Beautiful). He also appears in the second part and receives a gold coin from Christin for his kindness and helpfulness towards her and her companions. "Vigilant" is also the name of a shepherd in the lovely mountains.
- Insight (Discretion), one of the young women who live in the palace beauty. The other three maidens of the palace beauty:
- Wisdom (prudence)
- Fear of God (or piety, piety)
- Love (charity)
- Apollyon (literally "destroyer"), lord of the city of perdition and as the devil companion of the arch-devil who tries to bring Christ back to his place of residence and to his service by force. He fights with Christ in the Valley of Humiliation, not far from the Palace of Beauty. He appears as a dragon-like creature with scales and bat wings and hurls burning arrows at his opponents in battle.
- Giant "Pope" and "Heide" (Giants Pope and Pagan), they are allegories of Roman Catholicism and paganism as persecutors of Protestant Christians. "Pagan" is dead, which means the end of the pagan past with its persecution of Christians; "Pope" is still alive but decrepit, which shows the diminished power and dwindling influence of the Roman Catholic Pope.
- Faithful , Christ's friend from the City of Perdition, who also went on the pilgrimage. Christian meets him right after he has passed through the valley of the shadows of death.
- Lust (Wanton), a seductress who wanted to ensnare Faithful when he set out on a journey to the heavenly city. It is also mentioned in the second part of the book.
- the old Adam (Adam the First) from the town of Deceit, the Faith with the help of his three daughters Fleischeslust, Augenlust und Hochmut (the Lust of the flesh, the Lust of the eyes, and the Pride of life) from tried to dissuade his journey.
- Moses , the strict, mighty avenger (representative of the law, which knows no mercy), who wants to kill faithfully because of his current weakness in which he wants to go astray with the old Adam.
- Schwätzer (Talkative), a hypocrite, a Christian known from the City of Perdition, who lived in Schwatzgasse. He speaks passionately of religion but has no salvation-resultant deeds to show.
- Mr. Hassgut (Hate-good), the judge before whom Faith must stand at the market of vanities.
- Envy (Envy), the first witness to True. The other two witnesses against Faith are:
- Superstition (superstition)
- Flatterer (Pick-Thank)
- Hopefully (Hopeful), a resident of the city with the Vanity Fair, which takes the place of True as a companion of Christ.
- Mr. By-Ends, is a hypocritical pilgrim who perishes in the silver mine at Hill Profit / Profit (lucre), along with his three friends.
- Demas , an impostor who waves to the pilgrims at the hill for profit to come and go to the silver mine.
- Giant Despair (Giant Despair), the lord of the castle doubt where many pilgrims were imprisoned and finally murdered. After being mistreated by the giant, Christians and Hopefuls can flee. The giant is slain by Courage in the second part.
- Giantess distrust (Giantess Diffidence), the wife of the Giant Despair, and involved in the crimes. She is finally killed by Redlich in the second part.
- Wise (Knowledge), he and three others are shepherds from the lovely mountains:
- Learn (Experience)
- Alert (watchful)
- Sincere (Sincere)
- Ignorant (Ignorance), "a brisk young fellow." He got onto the straight and narrow path, the Königsweg, but down a crooked alley. He goes a piece with Christ and Hopeful and discusses with both of them. Ignorance believes that he comes to the heavenly city because he has done good deeds, and he thinks that he did the will of God in this way. For him Jesus Christ is only an example and not a Savior. Christian and Hopeful try to put him on the right track, but fail. Ignorant arrives at the ferryman “False Hope” (Vain-Hope), who drives him over the river of death instead of the pilgrim crossing the water on foot. When the ignorant then stands at the gate of the heavenly city, he is asked for his testimony, which is necessary for the entrance, but he has none. The king then orders that ignorant be bound and thrown into hell.
- Schmeichler (Flatterer), a deceiver who leads a Christian and hopeful a wrong way at a fork in the road and then catches it in a net. Schmeichler is a sinister figure, but dressed in a brightly light robe.
- Atheist , a former pilgrim who mocks Christian and hopeful for walking the arduous road forward. He himself is now going the other way around because he thinks that God and the heavenly city do not exist. He also explains that he was looking for it for years; did not find them, and so he came to his current conviction.
Characters in the second part of the book
- Mr. acumen (Mr. Saga City), an old man, and the narrator, meets the Bunyan in a new dream. Acuteness tells the events here in the second part up to the arrival of Christ at the narrow gate.
- Christin (Christiana), the wife of Christ; she goes on a pilgrimage with her four sons and the neighbor Merciful.
- Matthew (Matthew), Christ's and Christin's eldest son, who later marries Merciful.
- Samuel , second son, who later marries Grace, Mnason's daughter.
- Joseph , third son, who later marries Martha, Mnason's daughter.
- Jakob (James), fourth and youngest son, who marries Phoebe, daughter of Gajus.
- Merciful (Mercy), Christin's neighbor, who goes on a pilgrimage with her and later marries Matthew. She is constantly making handicrafts as a token of her mercy.
- Mrs. Timorous, a relative of Feartsam in the first part. She comes to Christ with mercy before she goes on pilgrimage.
- Mrs. Bat's-Eyes, a resident of the City of Doom and friend of Mrs. Feartsam. Her name identifies her as blind, so her claim that a Christian is blind because of her intention to go on pilgrimage is hypocritical.
- Mrs. Inconsiderate (Mrs. Inconsiderate), a resident of the City of Doom and friend of Mrs. Feartsam. She says that Christ's departure is to free the place from a few fantasizing fools.
- Mrs. Light -Mind, a resident of the City of Doom and friend of Mrs. Feartsam. She doesn't want to talk about Christin, but tells of a slippery party at Frau Wollust (Wanton), where Frau Fleischlieb (Love-the-Flesh) and similar people also took part, e.g. B. Ms. lust / lasciviousness (Mrs. Lechery), Mr. rubbish / mess (Mr. Filth) u. a.
- Ms. Ahnungslos (Know-Nothing), a resident of the City of Doom and friend of Ms. Feartsam. She asks her friend if Christin will actually go on the pilgrimage.
- Two ill-favored ones, two evil characters: Christin sees the two dark figures in her dream while she is still at home; the two explain their plan in a dream: to distract Christin to prevent her pilgrimage.
- Innocent (Innocent), a young maid at the booth. She guards the door of the house and then lets in Christ and her company. Innocence also leads pilgrims to take a bath in the garden (which symbolizes Christian baptism).
- Courageous (Great-Heart), the guide and bodyguard (bodyguard) that the interpreter sends along for Christin and her company from his home until the end of the journey. Mutherz turns out to be one of the most important actors in this second part of the book.
- Riese Grimm (Giant Grim), a highwayman who wants to stand by the chained lions who, like him, prevent the pilgrims from continuing their journey. He steps in their way just before the Beauty Palace and is killed there by Courageous Heart. He is also known under the name Bloody-Man.
- Humility (Humble-Mind), a maid in the palace beauty (or house Glorious) that the book occurs only in the second part.
- Mr Flott (Mr.Brisk), a man who graciously pays court to her, but leaves her when he learns that she sews clothes only to give away to the poor.
- Physician Skill is the physician called to the Palast Schönheit, who cures Matthew of his illness and also gives medicine for the onward journey. Matthew got sick from eating apples from Beelzebub's garden.
- Riese Hammer (Giant Maul), a giant that Courageous Heart kills when he pounces with a club on the pilgrims who have just left the Valley of the Shadows of Death.
- Redlich (Old Honest), an old pilgrim who joins the group and gets along very well with courage.
- Mr. Fearing is a pilgrim whom Courage took with great difficulty on an earlier pilgrimage to the heavenly city, and who was known for his fearfulness. He came from the town of Stupidity and is Feeble Mind's uncle.
- Gaius (Gaius), a hospitable person with whom the pilgrims stay for a few years after having passed the Valley of the Shadows of Death. He gives his daughter Phoebe Jakob to wife. The cost of the hostel is paid by the good Samaritan.
- Giant Virtue Enemy (or Murder Festival , Slay-Good), a giant who is the leader of a group of highwaymen who kidnap and murder many pilgrims.
- Mr. Feeble-Mind, he is rescued from the enemy of virtue by Courageous Heart, and joins Christin's group of pilgrims.
- Phoebe , daughter of Gaius, then married to Jacob.
- Mr. Hinkfuß (Ready-to-Halt), a pilgrim who meets Christin's group at the door of Gaius. He becomes a companion of faint-hearted, to whom he also gives one of his crutches.
- Mr. Mnason , a resident of the city of Vanity, who welcomes the pilgrims for a while. He married his daughters Grace and Martha to Samuel and Joseph, the sons of Christ.
- Grace (Grace), Mnasons daughter who married Samuel.
- Martha , Mnason's daughter who marries Joseph.
- Mr. Despondency , a prisoner rescued from Doubting Castle.
- Feared (Much-Afraid), his daughter. which was also trapped.
- Mr. Truth Fighter (Valiant-for-Truth), a pilgrim who is found with a bloodied face and a drawn sword. He had had to defend himself against three highwaymen when he had just left the Delectable Mountains behind.
- Mr. Standhaft (Standfast) - a pilgrim whom Madam Soap Bubble wanted to seduce, but who came out of this temptation through his prayer.
- Madame Soap Bubble (Madam Bubble), a witch whose arts created the enchanted ground. She is the adulteress mentioned in the Biblical Book of Proverbs.
Places of pilgrimage
- City of ruin (City of Destruction), hometown of Christian allegory for this transient world.
- Morass of despondency (Slough of Despond), the first obstacle on the way to the narrow gate, but only one of many dangers on the way to the Celestial City. In the first part, Christ falls in and continues to sink because of the burden of his sins.
- Mount Sinai (Mount Sinai), a scary mountain near the village of Moral, which threatens all who go there.
- Gate (or narrow gate according to Matthew 7:14, wicket gate), the place to enter the pilgrimage, the straight and narrow way to the heavenly city (Kings Highway). The pilgrims must all pass through this gate (formalists and hypocrites do not, however).
- House of the boom (House of the Interpreter), a kind of spiritual exhibition to teach the pilgrims about the correct behavior, that they also aim of the heavenly city, arrive.
- Cross and Sepulcher , symbols of the cross and the grave of Christ.
- Mount of hardship (Hill Difficulty), both the hill and the road up there "hardship" hot. There are two deceptive byways there: Danger and Destruction. Christ takes the arduous pilgrimage, the formalist and hypocrite, on the other hand, takes the seemingly easier side roads, which turn out to be deadly dead ends.
- Palace Beauty (House Beautiful), a palace that serves as a resting place for pilgrims on their way to the heavenly city. He is apparently on the mountain of hardship. From the palace you have a beautiful view of the lovely mountains. The palace of Beauty symbolizes the Christian community, and Bunyan took its name from a gate of the Jerusalem temple (Acts 3: 2 and 10).
- Valley of Humiliation (Valley of Humiliation), the valley on the other side of the mountain of hardship. From the path that leads down there, the girl wisdom from the palace beauty says that it is extremely slippery. Here Christ meets Apollyon. Courageous heart explains in the second part that Christ led the fight in a narrow passage, just behind the Forgetful Green, and there would be the most dangerous place in the whole area. It is a very lonely and secluded valley, in which the Lord of the Mountains (Jesus Christ) nevertheless also enjoys.
- Valley of the shadow of death (Valley of the Shadow of Death), an insidious Valley: on the right side of this very narrow path, a deep ditch on the left side of a dangerous morass. (cf. Psalm 23: 4).
- Hostel Caius (Gaius's Inn), a roadhouse in the second part.
- Vanity and Vanity Fair (Vanity and Vanity Fair), a town through which runs the pilgrimage, and their market has a millennia-old tradition.
- Level leisure (or fields rest, Plain Ease), a pleasant area by dragging the pilgrims.
- Berg Profit (or Hill Profit, Hill Lucre), the place of a supposed silver mine, where a path leads to a detour and where byways and their companions get lost.
- Statue of Lot's wife (Pillar of Salt), pillar that was Lot's wife who was turned into a pillar of salt when Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. The pilgrims on the mountain profit is the appropriate warning, because there they can be tempted by Demas to go into the silver mine.
- River God or river of living water (River of God or River of the Water of Life) - the stream of life, a place of comfort for the pilgrims. It flows through a meadow that remains green all year round and is full of lush fruit trees. In the second part there is the Good Shepherd, to whom the Christian entrusts her grandchildren.
- Abwegswiese (By-Path Meadow), leads to Zweifelsburg.
- Zweifelsburg (Doubting Castle), residence of the giant Despair and his wife, only the key Promise opens their doors and gates.
- The lovely mountains (The Delectable Mountains), also known as Immanuel's land. A lush country, from the heights of which one can see many pleasant things and also curiosities. This land is inhabited by shepherds with their sheep, and from Mount Clear they let Christ see the heavenly city through a telescope.
- The Enchanted reason (The Enchanted Ground) is an area through which the pilgrim route, but emanates such a haze that pilgrims are sleepy. However, if you go to sleep in this place, you will never wake up. The shepherds of the lovely mountains warn pilgrims of this.
- The Country of Beulah, a lush garden on this side of the river (of death).
- The river (of death) (The River of Death), the terrible river, which separates from Mount Zion. It becomes deeper or shallower for the pilgrim, depending on the faith of the one who wants to cross it.
- The Celestial City (The Celestial City), the desired goal of the pilgrims, the sky, the apartment of the "Lord of the Mountains", ie God. The heavenly city is on Mount Zion.
effect
Bunyan's book is a milestone in religious edification literature . It had a decisive influence on the development of fictional literature as well as on the modern Bildungsroman .
The Pilgrimage to Blessed Eternity is now considered one of the most famous books of edification in world literature after Bunyan was sentenced to a long prison term for his religious beliefs.
The book left literary traces u. a. in Schlachthof 5 or The Children's Crusade by US author Kurt Vonnegut , especially in the fate of the protagonist Billy Pilgrim . Some neologisms Bunyan were literally how the marketplace of the Vanities ( Vanity Fair ).
Reasons for the spread
Bunyan's characters are universal. They are types that you find at all times and in all places. For example, the readers of the book immediately identified people around them with characters like gossips and ignoramuses . Bunyan did not only want to portray human characters, but also intended to use the story to encourage the believers in his community and arouse the indifferent so that they could strive to grow their faith.
Incidentally, there are many works in world literature that depict human life in time as a journey from place to place: Homer's Odyssey, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, etc. So travel is a popular metaphor for human life , and Bunyan even describes the same journey twice in his book: Christian and Christian must reach the heavenly city on the same path. Bunyan, however, avoids repetitions and very cleverly sets new accents in the second part.
Although Bunyan's pilgrimage is said to be the most widely used English-language book after the Bible, knowledge of the pilgrimage has continued to decline in the course of secularization . The title is then misunderstood as the journey of the Pilgrim Fathers on the Mayflower, and the author is confused with the legendary woodcutter Paul Bunyan.
Remarkably, in the course of his journey , Christ repeatedly loses the pilgrimage through his own fault and goes astray, despite all the struggles he has endured. In this way, the book served as consolation for Christians who were defeated in their own internal struggles. Nevertheless, the story also contains a warning undertone, which is expressed in the fate of the ignorant / ignorant . Bunyan even chose his damnation as the end of Part One of his book and not, as might be expected, the arrival of Christ in the heavenly city.
Instead, the second part has a consistently auspicious and happy ending.
German editions
A large number of German translations are available, including:
- A Christian's Journey To Blessed Eternity . 2 volumes. German by Christoph Matthäus Seidel. The first print of this translation was probably published by Georg Wolff in Hamburg in 1685, but no copy of this first edition has survived. Reprinted many times in the 17th and 18th centuries.
- The Christian's pilgrimage to the heavenly city . German by Friedrich Heinrich Ranke. Carl Heyder, Erlangen 1832.
- The pilgrimage from this world to the future . German by Friedrich Ahlfeld. Hermann Costenoble, Leipzig 1853.
- (Anon.): Pilgrimage to eternal bliss . Wiemann, Barmen 1856.
An anonymous German translation appeared at times under the title Pilgerreise nach dem Berge Zion (so in the 24th edition in 1919 by Oncken-Verlag ) with a biography of Bunyan. In 1998 a new translation by Christian Rendel appeared under the compact title Pilgerreise in Johannis-Verlag ( ISBN 3-501-01339-6 ), which was in the 6th edition in 2010 ( ISBN 978-3-501-01360-1 ).
Secondary literature
- Wolfgang Iser : Bunyan's “Pilgrim's Progress” · The Calvinist certainty of salvation and the form of the novel . In: Willi Erzgräber (Ed.): Interpretations Volume 7 · English literature from Thomas More to Laurence Sterne . Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt a. M. et al. 1970, pp. 165-193.
