Compassion and forgiveness may be one of the trickiest (and, ironically, least satisfying) issues in The Pilgrim's Progress. Compassion is central to the bonds Christian forms with fellow pilgrims and helpers along the way. It's the reason he can talk with and get help from the ladies of the Palace Beautiful and the shepherds of the Delectable Mountains.
What's difficult in this story are the places where compassion and forgiveness seem to be withheld. The man in the iron cage, for example, is said to be beyond Christ's forgiveness. You have to pick your compassion battles, at least according to Bunyan.
Questions About Compassion and Forgiveness
- Which characters in Bunyan's allegory seem to be most and least compassionate?
- Christian makes a number of mistakes throughout his journey, but is always forgiven. Why is this? What is it that makes him forgivable, while other characters who go astray end up completely forsaken?
- Compassion literally means "to suffer with." What are some instances in the story where characters either chose to suffer or feel with another, or where shared suffering lightens the burden? Why is this? (You might try thinking of similar moments in your own life.)
- Our hero's story begins in a seemingly merciless situation. How do you understand his apparent need to seek forgiveness and salvation from destruction—particularly when he seems to have done nothing wrong?
Chew on This
Sometimes compassion is spontaneous. At other times, though, it takes a little effort. Throughout The Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan—through his characters' frequent struggles to forgive—shows that compassion is often a specific choice.
Of all the characters in the story, Apollyon (aka Beelzebub or Satan) is by all accounts the least forgiving.