Abstract
The Pilgrim’s Progress is the central work of Puritanism. The First Part was published in 1678 and the Second Part in 1684. The Second Part is less discussed compared with the First Part; however, I propose in this thesis that the Second Part is important for it reflects Bunyan’s changing attitude toward women in holy community. The Pilgrim’s Progress is a text that encodes and participates in history and I argue that Bunyan in The Pilgrim’s Progress creates values for Puritanism with respect to gender, community, and spirituality. This thesis investigates Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress in the context of contemporary expectations and perceptions of women in seventeenth-century England and how gender discourse played a role in radical Protestant communities like the one Bunyan led in real life as pastor. This thesis argues that the publication of the Second Part reflects Bunyan’s changing idea of gender roles, and as a Puritan writer Bunyan saw women’s roles as increasingly important in the holy community. Bunyan notices the importance of women in the church and women play an important part in his life, but women’s roles are still subservient for him. On the one hand, women seem to serve a certain function of enlightening Bunyan the male Christian, but he also regards them as playing a subservient role in the Protestant patriarchy. In Part II, Christiana creates the community by the social act literate practice and she does well. But at the same time her pursuit of salvation cannot be done without this community. This community in Part II allows women some kind of articulation of themselves and their being, but the final purpose is for the benefits of male Christians, as a fulfillment of Part I and completion of the pilgrim’s “progress.”