After reading · Section 7

Section 7Easy Ways and Hard Lessons

Reading boundary Start: Now I saw in my dream, that Christian went not forth alone, Stop after: Whose castle's Doubting, and whose name's Despair.

Summary

Hopeful joins Christian after Vanity Fair. They reject By-ends, whose religion bends toward comfort and profit, and refuse Demas’s invitation to Hill Lucre. After rest beside the river of God, however, Christian chooses the easier Bypath Meadow. Vain-confidence leads them onward in darkness before falling into a pit; rain then prevents the pilgrims from returning to the highway.

Giant Despair imprisons and beats them in Doubting Castle, while Diffidence advises him to urge their suicide. Hopeful counters Christian’s despair with God’s prohibition, uncertain possibilities, and memories of earlier deliverance. After praying through the night, Christian remembers the key called Promise in his bosom. It opens every lock, and they escape. Back on the highway, they erect a warning pillar that frankly names their heedlessness and its danger.

Who’s who

Hopeful — Christian’s new companion, awakened by public witness and able to encourage as well as be corrected.
By-ends — A religious opportunist who follows belief when it brings comfort, status, or profit.
Demas — A gentlemanlike recruiter for the dangerous silver mine at Hill Lucre.
Vain-confidence — A confident guide on an unauthorized path who cannot see its hidden pit.
Giant Despair and Diffidence — Captor and counsellor who use pain, darkness, isolation, and hopeless argument against the pilgrims.