After reading · Section 2
Section 2The House of Lessons
Reading boundary
Start: So he went on with haste,
Stop after: Thankful, O good Interpreter, to thee.
Summary
Goodwill pulls Christian through the wicket-gate, hears his confession, and directs him along the straight, narrow way. At Interpreter’s house, Christian sees a portrait of a true guide and a dusty room: sweeping raises choking dust, while sprinkled water permits cleansing.
Further emblems contrast Passion’s immediate, exhausted treasure with Patience’s lasting inheritance; show Christ secretly feeding a fire that the Devil tries to extinguish; and picture courage in a man who fights into a guarded palace. An iron-caged former professor warns of deliberate hardening, and a frightened dreamer describes final judgment. Christian leaves grateful, carrying both hope and fear as motives to persevere.
Who’s who
- Goodwill — The gatekeeper who receives Christian and sets him on the narrow way.
- Interpreter — The teacher who explains enacted spiritual pictures.
- Passion and Patience — Children representing present appetite and patient hope.
- The caged man — A former professor who describes hardening and despair.