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This is one of those works where it is essential to understand the historical context to gain insight into the author’s motivation. The Pilgrim’s Progress, by John Bunyan, was written in two parts – the first in 1678, the second in 1684. Bunyan was born in 1628, so he was already 50 years old when the first part was published. Those 50 years had seen a great deal of history played out in Britain, which goes a long way to explaining Bunyan’s intent.

He was born a couple of years into the reign of King Charles I, which proved to be the beginning of a period of great turmoil. Due to the King’s ill-judged actions, the English Civil War broke out in 1642 and would last until 1651, during which time hundreds of thousands died, either in the name of the monarchy or parliament. Charles was executed in 1649 and Oliver Cromwell took the role of Lord Protector from 1653 until his death in 1658. England then decided a monarchy was better than a republic and instated Charles II as the new king. The authorities even tried to erase the Protectorate from history by recording the start of Charles II’s reign from 1649. To this day, England is the only nation to have rid itself of monarchy and then brought it back again.

By the time Bunyan was 30 years old he had witnessed the horrors of warfare, which had only served to exchange the selfishness of Charles I for the piousness of Cromwell. He was now witnessing the frivolity and excesses of Charles II. Understandably, he felt that English society had become so confused that it was slipping into moral and ethical bankruptcy. People wanted to put the past behind them at the expense of their religious fortitude. They had the Christian Bible for guidance, but they appeared no longer to heed its message. Bunyan set about putting things right by means of an allegorical tale that would make the reader think about the consequences of their behaviour. It would be a kind of practical guide or companion to the Bible, so that the layperson had a straightforward point of reference, instead of having to read and interpret the metaphorical words of the good book. In effect, The Pilgrim’s Progress is a fable about what to expect in the afterlife if one chooses to act in one way or another during life.

Bunyan was a Protestant Christian. Following the restoration of the English monarchy, the nation became Anglican (Church of England) Christian under Charles II. Protestants had a puritanical approach to Christianity, while Anglicans were more progressive and open-minded. In 1664, the Conventicle Act was passed, which meant that it became illegal for anyone outside the Church of England to attend religious assemblies of more than five people. Bunyan found himself arrested for preaching and was subjected to two periods of imprisonment. It was his incarceration for his beliefs that inspired him to write The Pilgrim’s Progress, because it was a way of preaching his message regardless of his own circumstances. Once published, his words would be a meme in society. The authorities could imprison the man, but not his thoughts.

During this period in history people were generally obsessed with death. It was, after all, never far away due to warfare and disease, and Christianity had indoctrinated populations with the concept that their conduct in life would determine whether they went to heaven or hell. This pre-occupation with the afterlife pervaded all levels of society, so Bunyan’s writings had a potentially wide readership. Bunyan had been exposed to the uncertainty of life in 1644 when both his mother and sister died. Shortly after this he had signed up with the parliamentary army, otherwise known as the Roundheads.

In his early twenties Bunyan began to reflect on his misspent youth and claimed that he had a calling to Christianity. He struggled for a number of years to come to terms with reforming his own character, but eventually emerged with a clear understanding of his mission. It was the acknowledgement of his own lack of moral fibre in youth that prompted him to guide others in their own journey to redemption. He was a converted sinner surrounded by scores of other sinners, all wishing to be led to salvation.

Monotheism – the idea that a single god is responsible for everything – was a ubiquitous mindset in the Western world in Bunyan’s time. No one questioned that accepted wisdom, largely because science was still in its infancy, so religions provided rounded explanations for the workings of the world. It would be some time before science demonstrated empirical explanations for phenomena previously attributed to the actions of an omnipotent entity.

The Pilgrim’s Progress describes the quasi-literal spiritual journey of the central character, Christian, who meets various other characters and visits many places along the way. These characters and places represent good and bad qualities and concepts. Christian has to negotiate his way through a supernatural parallel world, from his hometown, The City of Destruction (Earth), to his intended destination, The Celestial City (Heaven). The second part of the book relates the same journey taken by his family.

The book thus falls into the genre of fantasy, albeit with a religious message. Bunyan used the word ‘dream’ to describe its manner of delivery. He clearly reasoned that it needed to be a good read first and foremost, to keep the reader engaged throughout. That way, the allegory would be effortlessly absorbed, making it far more accessible than the Bible. Of course, it also suited the tradition of public storytelling. As relatively few people were able to read, they would rely on an educated individual to entertain them with an interesting yarn. In that respect a journey is a useful device, as it allows the central characters to travel through different experiences and circumstances. In other words, there is a plot, which makes the reader or listener want to know what will happen next – the staple of all good stories.

It just so happened that the Popish Plot coincided with publication in England. It was alleged that the Catholic Church was infiltrating England and conspiring to assassinate Charles II. Bunyan’s work fuelled the fire of anti-Catholic sentiment in England, a sentiment which lived on into the 20th century in some regions. When King James II took the throne in 1685 he introduced a policy of religious tolerance, because he had Catholic beliefs. He was widely detested by Protestants and this led to the Glorious Revolution in 1688, when James was overthrown by William III, who had come from Holland to restore the Protestant regime.

Catholicism fell from favour because it was seen as too extravagant to be godly. The term ‘catholic’ is used as a synonym for gaudy tastes, because Catholic churches were so adorned with colourful decoration that they were seen to detract from true faith. Protestantism, in contrast, was all about getting back to basics. Its churches were plain and simple, so that attention was centred on devotion and worship. Corruption was also rife in the Catholic Church, because priests were allowed to accept payments and gifts for their work as conduits to the Christian God. Protestant priests, on the other hand, were nourished by their devotion and made far more modest demands of their congregations.

Three years after the publication of the first part of The Pilgrim’s Progress in England, it was published in America, where it enjoyed success among Protestant communities. Life in America was hard-going as it was still very much in its embryonic stages of development. Bunyan’s work was viewed as a useful guide in an environment where hardships often led people to think selfishly and intolerantly.

Bunyan died as unpredictably as one could expect in his day. He developed a cold while riding to London. Within hours he was delirious with fever and died soon after of pneumonia. His death served to illustrate the importance of keeping up one’s pursuit of godliness at all times, so as to be certain – even at very short notice – of favourable treatment in the afterlife.