Preview: Section 17
Reading boundary
Start: Now they began to go down the hill
Stop after: because they were weary.
With Great-heart restored as guide, Christiana’s company leaves Palace Beautiful and descends into the valleys Christian once crossed. The landscape will test how they understand humility, fear, and the help available to pilgrims who feel weak.
Familiar ground gradually gives way to less familiar encounters. Bunyan remains interested in the difference between persistent weakness and chosen disobedience, since confidence alone does not reveal a pilgrim’s character.