The Pilgrim’s Progress · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan.
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Christian
major
Also known as Christian, neighbour Christian, poor Christian, good Christian, Now good Christian, Christian the Pilgrim, young Christian, One Christian, Mark well Christian
Christian is the ordinary townsman whose terror of coming judgment drives him out of his own house, away from a weeping wife and four sons who think him mad. His burden of sin will not lift by any effort of his own, and his flight splits his family and scandalizes his street. His leaving sets the whole story in motion: everything the reader meets on the road is measured against the man who dared to go.
Christiana
major
Also known as Christiana, Sweet Christiana, good Christiana, one Christiana
For years Christiana stood on the safe side of the door, mocking the groans and entreaties of a husband she thought melancholy-mad. After he vanishes over the river, her unkindness returns to her like lightning, and a dream of her own recorded sins drives her to cry out for mercy. Her late, costly repentance turns the abandoned household into a second pilgrimage, and her sons' futures hang on whether she can lead them where their father went.
Mercy
supporting
Also known as Mercy, young Mercy, Good Mercy
Mercy is the tender-hearted companion who joins the second pilgrimage not from conviction so much as from love, and her longing to go is so strong that she weeps when she thinks she may be turned away. She has no husband, no children, no obvious claim on the road, which makes her presence both a comfort and a quiet question about who is welcome. Her gentleness steadies Christiana's household and gives the second journey its warmest, most human thread.
Hopeful
supporting
Also known as Hopeful, good Hopeful
Hopeful comes to the pilgrimage late and by the hardest route, converted by the spectacle of a man willing to die rather than recant. Where Christian is often anxious and quick to doubt, Hopeful is steady, and their long conversations turn the road into something like friendship. He matters because he shows that the journey can be picked up at any point, and that a companion can carry more weight than a doctrine.
Faithful
supporting
Also known as Faithful, neighbour Faithful
Faithful is the friend Christian meets again after both fled the same city, and their shared miles become the book's warmest stretch of talk and argument. He is blunt, unafraid of dispute, and unwilling to soften his testimony for anyone's comfort, which makes him beloved to some and intolerable to others. His stand in Vanity Fair gives the first journey its costliest loss and proves that the road demands more than good intentions.
Evangelist
supporting
Also known as Evangelist, O sweet Evangelist
Evangelist arrives uninvited in the fields outside the City of Destruction and hands Christian the one direction that matters, then vanishes as abruptly as he came. He is not a companion but a summons, and his reappearances at the worst moments carry both rebuke and rescue. Without him the pilgrimage would have no starting point and no correction, which makes him the story's quiet hinge.
Great-heart
supporting
Also known as Mr. Great-heart, Great-heart, Mr. Great, Mr. Great - heart, Great - heart
Great-heart enters the Second Part as the protector Christiana's company desperately needs, a man whose courage is matched by his tenderness toward the weak. He carries a sword for giants and a patience for children, and his authority comes not from rank but from having walked the road himself. Without him, the women and boys would be easy prey for every Apollyon and Despair that lurks ahead.
Old Honest
supporting
Also known as old Honest, Honest, Mr. Honest, old Mr. Honest
Old Honest arrives with the gravity of a man who has outlived his own follies and now speaks only what he has tested. He is not the fastest walker in the company, but his word is the one the others trust when the road forks and the talk turns slippery. His presence reminds the group that integrity is not a young man's ornament but an old man's scar.
Giant Despair
supporting
Also known as Giant Despair, The Giant, Despair, the Giant, the old Giant, the Giant Despair
Giant Despair rules a crumbling castle on the By-Path Meadow, where any traveler who strays from the King's highway wakes in his dungeon. He is married to Diffidence, and together they have made a business of breaking spirits with hunger, darkness, and the suggestion of suicide. His cruelty is not hot but cold and routine, which is what makes him the most feared landlord on the road.
Apollyon
supporting
Also known as Apollyon
Apollyon is the prince of the city of Destruction, and he does not bother to disguise his hatred: he reminds Christian of every sin, every backslide, every reason the pilgrimage should end here. Their fight lasts half a day, and Christian's sword is nearly knocked from his hand before he remembers the promise that sustains him. The valley is his territory, and he makes every pilgrim who passes through it pay in blood or in fear.
Satan
supporting
Also known as Satan
Satan rarely appears in person in the allegory, but his fingerprints are on every temptation from the Slough of Despond to the Enchanted Ground. He is the prosecutor who whispers a pilgrim's sins louder than the promises, and the strategist who sends Apollyon, Despair, and a hundred subtler enemies in his place. His power is real, but the book insists it is bounded, and that is the tension every traveler must learn to live inside.
Matthew
supporting
Also known as Matthew, Matt
Matthew is the first of Christiana's four boys to speak, to question, and to stumble, which makes him both the leader of the brothers and the cautionary tale. His illness after eating the fruit is the Second Part's sharpest lesson that the children of pilgrims are not immune to sin. His recovery, and the medicine that cures him, become a quiet picture of grace working through the ordinary means of the church.
Mercy
supporting
Also known as Mercy, young Mercy, Good Mercy
Mercy travels with Christiana's household as a young woman of soft spirit and deep affection, often weeping when she hears of Christian's journey and longing to see the place he sought. Her tenderness is both her gift and her trial, for she feels every danger keenly and must learn that love, not boldness, can carry a pilgrim through. Her presence gives the Second Part its warmth, showing that the way is open to the timid as well as the valiant.
Valiant
supporting
Also known as Master Valiant, Valiant, Mr. Valiant
Valiant-for-the-truth arrives among Christiana's companions as a youth whose courage is already legendary, a man no threat could make face about. He carries a sword and a readiness for conflict that sets him apart from the more hesitant travelers, and his boldness both inspires and tests the group. In the middle stretch of the journey he becomes a picture of active faith, proving that the pilgrimage demands not only endurance but the will to fight for the truth one professes.
Mr. Fearing
minor
Also known as Master Fearing, Mr. Fearing, Fearing
A timid pilgrim whose fearful nature is described by Great-heart.
Timorous
minor
Also known as Timorous, Mrs. Timorous
A fearful neighbor who tries to dissuade Christiana from her pilgrimage.
Mr. Worldly Wiseman
minor
Also known as Mr. Worldly Wiseman
A deceptive guide who tries to divert Christian from the narrow way.
Mr. Feeble-mind
minor
Also known as Mr. Feeble-mind, Mr. Feeble - Mind
A weak but faithful pilgrim rescued by Great-heart from Giant Slay.
Mr. Despondency
minor
Also known as Master Despondency, Mr. Despondency, Despondency
A melancholy pilgrim who travels with his daughter Much-afraid.
Prudence
minor
Also known as Prudence, Prud
A wise maiden at the House of the Interpreter who instructs the pilgrims.
Piety
minor
Also known as Piety
A virtuous woman at the House of the Interpreter who teaches the pilgrims.
Charity
minor
Also known as Charity
A kind woman at the House of the Interpreter who questions Christiana.
Gaius
minor
Also known as Gaius, Good Gaius, good Gaius
A hospitable innkeeper who hosts the pilgrims and marries his children.
Mr. Mnason
minor
Also known as one Mr. Mnason, Mnason, Mr. Mnason, this Mr. Mnason
An aged pilgrim who hosts Christiana's company in Vanity Fair.
Madam Bubble
minor
Also known as Madam Bubble, Bubble
A temptress who tries to lure pilgrims away from the path.
Giant Maul
minor
Also known as Maul, Giant Slay, Giant Maul
A giant who attacks pilgrims but is slain by Great-heart.
Mr. Brisk
minor
Also known as Mr. Brisk
A suitor to Mercy who loses interest when she gives away her possessions.
Pliable
minor
Also known as Pliable
A fellow traveler who abandons Christian in the Slough of Despond.
Obstinate
minor
Also known as Obstinate
A neighbor who mocks Christian and refuses to join his pilgrimage.
Ignorance
minor
Also known as Ignorance, Ignor
A self-deceived pilgrim who relies on his own righteousness and is rejected.
Demas
minor
Also known as Demas, silver Demas
A pilgrim who is lured away by the silver mine of Lucre.
Atheist
minor
Also known as Atheist
A traveler who denies the existence of the Celestial City.
Mr. Stand-fast
minor
Also known as Mr. Stand-fast, Mr. Stand
A steadfast pilgrim who resists Madam Bubble's temptations.
Mr. Desires-awake
minor
Also known as Mr. Desires
A pilgrim who intercedes for others at the Interpreter's house.
Mr. Skill
minor
Also known as Mr. Skill
A physician who heals Matthew from his illness.
Mr. Interpreter
minor
Also known as Mr. Interpreter, Inter
A guide who shows pilgrims allegorical visions at his house.
Goodwill
minor
Also known as Goodwill
The keeper of the Wicket Gate who welcomes pilgrims.
Watchful
minor
Also known as Watchful
The porter at the House Beautiful who guards the door.
Discretion
minor
Also known as Discretion
A wise maiden at the House Beautiful who counsels pilgrims.
Giant Pope
minor
Also known as Pope, Giant Pope
A decrepit giant who threatens pilgrims but is too weak to pursue.
Giant Grim
minor
Also known as Grim, old Grim, Giant Grim
A giant who blocks the way but is slain by Great-heart.
Mr. Honest
minor
Also known as Hon, Hon .
A variant name for Old Honest, a truthful pilgrim.
Mr. Great-grace
minor
Also known as Great-grace, Grace
A mighty warrior who defeats Giant Despair and frees pilgrims.
Mrs. Diffidence
minor
Also known as Mrs. Diffidence, Diffidence
Giant Despair's wife, who encourages cruelty toward prisoners.
Mr. Pickthank
minor
Also known as Pickthank, this Pickthank, Mr. Pickthank
A false witness who testifies against Faithful at Vanity Fair.
Mr. Envy
minor
Also known as Envy, Mr. Envy
A witness who accuses Faithful out of jealousy at Vanity Fair.
Mr. Superstition
minor
Also known as Superstition
A witness against Faithful at Vanity Fair.
Mr. Hate-light
minor
Also known as Hate-light
A witness against Faithful at Vanity Fair.
Mr. Live-loose
minor
Also known as Live-loose
A witness against Faithful at Vanity Fair.
Mr. Anything
minor
Also known as Mr. Anything
A character who represents moral flexibility and compromise.
Madam Wanton
minor
Also known as Wanton, Madam Wanton, Madam
A temptress who tries to seduce pilgrims away from the path.
Simon the Witch
minor
Also known as Simon the witch, Simon
A sorcerer who opposes the pilgrims in Vanity Fair.
Mr. Flatterer
minor
Also known as the Flatterer, Flatterer
A deceiver who leads pilgrims astray with false praise.
Mistrust
minor
Also known as Mistrust
A pilgrim who turns back from the Hill Difficulty out of fear.
Timorous
minor
Also known as Timorous
A pilgrim who turns back from the Hill Difficulty with Mistrust.
Simple
minor
Also known as Simple
A foolish man who ignores warnings and perishes.
Sloth
minor
Also known as Sloth
A lazy man who refuses to continue his pilgrimage.
Presumption
minor
Also known as Presumption
A overconfident pilgrim who ignores danger and is lost.
Formalist
minor
Also known as Formalist
A hypocritical pilgrim who follows religion only outwardly.
Hypocrisy
minor
Also known as Hypocrisy, Hyp
A pilgrim who pretends to be righteous but is not genuine.
Talkative
minor
Also known as Talkative
A verbose but insincere pilgrim who is exposed by Faithful.
By-ends
minor
Also known as By-ends
A pilgrim who seeks religious gain for worldly profit.
Money-love
minor
Also known as Money-love
A companion of By-ends who loves wealth above all.
Save-all
minor
Also known as Save-all
A companion of By-ends who hoards his resources.
Hold-the-world
minor
Also known as Hold-the-world
A companion of By-ends who clings to earthly possessions.
Mr. Legal
minor
Also known as Mr. Legal
A resident of the town of Morality who offers false hope.
Civility
minor
Also known as Civility
Mr. Legal's son, who represents mere outward politeness.
Adam the First
minor
Also known as Adam the First, Adam
An old man who represents the old sinful nature.
Moses
minor
Also known as Moses
A severe figure who represents the law and frightens pilgrims.
Shame
minor
Also known as Shame
A character who tries to embarrass pilgrims for their faith.
Carnal Policy
minor
Also known as Carnal Policy
A guide who advises worldly wisdom over spiritual obedience.
Mr. Despair
minor
Also known as Despair
A character who embodies hopelessness in the pilgrim's journey.
Mr. Guilt
minor
Also known as Guilt
A character who torments pilgrims with their past sins.
Mr. Faint-heart
minor
Also known as Faint-heart, Faint
A timid pilgrim who struggles with courage on the way.
Mr. Stand-fast
minor
Also known as Mr. Stand-fast, Mr. Stand
A steadfast pilgrim who resists Madam Bubble's temptations.
