The Pilgrim’s Progress Characters

Obstinate, a neighbor in the City of Destruction, tries to force the fleeing Christian to return home. When Christian tries to persuade Obstinate to flee with him, Obstinate decides Christian is insane to leave the world behind and returns to the city.

When Christian is struggling in the Slough of Despond, Help appears and pulls him out.

Civility is Legality’s son. Like Legality, he purports to help remove people’s burdens but instead just increases them.

After passing through the Wicket-gate, both Christian and Christiana visit the Interpreter’s House, where the Interpreter shows them various signs and curiosities whose meanings help the pilgrims on their journeys.

Timorous is a fearful pilgrim who flees the lions in the path and tries to get Christian to turn back.

Mistrust is a fearful pilgrim who flees the lions in the path and tries to get Christian to turn back.

The Porter, or Mr. Watchful, guards the entrance to Palace Beautiful and encourages Christian not to fear the lions along the path.

Discretion is a girl who interviews and admits Christian to Palace Beautiful.

Piety is a resident of Palace Beautiful who encourages guests with her hospitality and conversation. She is especially focused on religious reverence.

Prudence is a resident of Palace Beautiful who encourages guests with her hospitality and conversation. She is especially focused on wise judgment. When Christiana and her sons arrive, she asks Christiana’s sons catechism questions to test their religious understanding.

Charity is a resident of Palace Beautiful who encourages guests with her hospitality and conversation. She is especially focused on love.

Shameful is a figure whom Faithful meets while passing through the Valley of Humiliation. Shame tries to convince Faithful that it’s shameful to be religious in the current day and age—after all, most of the rich and powerful don’t worry about religion, but only the poor and ignorant.

Beelzebub, a devil, is the King of Vanity.

Envy witnesses against Faithful in his trial in Vanity Fair.

Superstition witnesses against Faithful in his trial in Vanity Fair.

Pickthank witnesses against Faithful in his trial in Vanity Fair.

Lord Hategood is the judge of Faithful’s trial in Vanity Fair.

Demas leads pilgrims astray by inviting them to dig for treasure in his silver-mine in the hill called Lucre.

Diffidence is Giant Despair’s wife. She eggs on Giant Despair in his cruelties toward Christian and Hopeful. Mr. Honest later slays her.

Flatterer is a sinister figure who offers to lead Christian and Hopeful to the Celestial City but actually takes them in the opposite direction, getting them helplessly lost. The Shepherds had warned the pilgrims about the Flatterer, but they failed to heed the warning.

Christian and Hopeful meet Atheist on their pilgrimage, and Atheist laughs mockingly when he hears that the pilgrims are headed to the Celestial City. Atheist claims that he spent 20 years searching for the Celestial City and never found any sign of it.

When the narrator begins dreaming the second part of the book, he initially journeys with a figure named Mr. Sagacity. Sagacity tells the narrator the early part of Christiana’s story.

Secret is a figure who visits Christiana in the City of Destruction with a letter from the King of the Celestial City, inviting her to follow in Christian’s footsteps.

Mrs. Timorous is Timorous’s daughter and Christiana’s neighbor. She pleads with Christiana not to follow Christian’s footsteps by going on a pilgrimage, arguing that the hardships are too great.

The Ill-Favored Ones attempt to assault the women pilgrims (Christiana and her group) soon after the latter depart from the Wicket-gate, until they are chased off by a Reliever.

Reliever comes from the Gate-House to rescue the women pilgrims from the Ill-Favored Ones.

Mr. Great-heart is the guide and defender, assigned by Interpreter, who accompanies Christiana and her fellow pilgrims from the Interpreter’s House all the way to the banks of the River of Death. He defeats giants, leads and protects the women, and gives spiritual advice.

Christian’s and Christiana’s youngest son and Joseph, Samuel, and Matthew’s brother. He later marries Gaius’s daughter Phebe.

Christian’s and Christiana’s second-youngest son and Matthew, Samuel, and James’s brother. He later marries Martha Mnason.

Samuel is Christian’s and Christiana’s second-oldest son and James, Joseph, and Matthew’s brother. He later marries Grace Mnason.

Matthew is Christian’s and Christiana’s eldest son and James, Joseph, and Samuel’s brother. He gets deathly ill after eating some stolen fruit, but a doctor named Mr. Skill saves him. While staying at Gaius’s Inn, he marries Mercy.

Mr. Brisk, a worldly man, is Mercy’s suitor while she is staying at the Porter’s House. When he finds out that Mercy spends her spare time making clothes for the poor, he rejects her.

Mr. Skill is a doctor who makes a purgative potion for Matthew.

Maul is a giant whom Mr. Great-heart defeats in the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

Mr. Honest is an elderly pilgrim who joins Christiana’s group. He comes from the town of Stupidity. Mr. Fearing journeyed with him for a while.

Mr. Fearing is a pilgrim who constantly feared whether he would be accepted by God, thus making his journey needlessly difficult. God mercifully removed many obstacles throughout his pilgrimage, and his crossing of the River was easy.

Mr. Self-Will is a pilgrim who interpreted the Bible in order to excuse his own vices. Because of this, Great-heart doubts that Self-will was a genuine pilgrim.

Gaius is a kindly innkeeper who houses Christiana and her group for a month, having known Christian’s family for a long time. He advises Christiana to find godly wives for her sons and even encourages a match between Matthew and Mercy. He warmly praises women’s faithfulness as pilgrims.

Slay-good is a fearsome, flesh-eating giant who almost eats Feeble-mind before being slain by Great-heart.

Phebe is Gaius’s daughter, who marries James.

Mr. Ready-to-halt is a pilgrim who is infirm and uses crutches; he joins Christiana’s group of pilgrims as they’re setting out from Gaius’s Inn. He and Feeble-mind are good friends.

Mr. Mnason is a disciple from Cyprus who lives in Vanity. Christiana and her fellow pilgrims lodge in his house during their extended stay in that town. He has daughters named Grace and Martha.

Grace is Mr. Mnason’s daughter, who marries Samuel.

Martha is Mr. Mnason’s daughter, who marries Joseph.

Mr. Contrite is Mr. Mnason’s friend, who lives in Vanity and helps Mr. Great-heart slay the dragon that harasses the town.

Mr. Dispondency, Much-afraid’s father, is a pilgrim who is found imprisoned in Doubting Castle and taken under Mr. Great-heart’s protection.

Much-afraid is a pilgrim who, with her father, Mr. Dispondency, is found imprisoned in Doubting Castle and taken under Mr. Great-heart’s protection. When the time comes for her to cross the River of Death, she sings a joyous song.

Mr. Valiant-for-Truth is a brave pilgrim from Dark-land whom Christiana’s group meets just beyond the Delectable Mountains. Despite his family’s opposition, he embarked on his pilgrimage after hearing about Christian. Before Christiana crosses the River, she places her children under his care.

Stand-fast is a pilgrim who joins Christiana’s group in the Enchanted Ground, escaping Madam Bubble’s temptations.

Madam Bubble is an evil witch who has led many pilgrims astray in the Enchanted Ground, though Stand-fast escapes her temptations.

Little-faith is a character in a story Hopeful tells, who was robbed on his pilgrimage and spent the rest of his journey discouraged, though he made it to the Celestial City.

The book’s unnamed narrator falls asleep and dreams of Christian’s and Christiana’s respective journeys. These dreams make up the bulk of Pilgrim’s Progress.

Bunyan is the author of Pilgrim’s Progress. In the “Apology” at the beginning of the book, he offers a self-defense for writing about religious themes in a fictional and allegorical style.