The Pilgrim's Regress

The trio finds shelter in the shack occupied by three thin young men: Mr. Neo-Angular, Mr. Neo-Classical, and Mr. Humanist. Mr. Neo-Angular shares his food with the travelers but says that he does so out of duty. During the meal, it becomes clear that, despite differing beliefs about the Landlord, they are united against Mr. Halfways, Eschropolis, and the giant. The three men reveal their lineage—they are sons of Mr. Enlightenment and share a stepbrother, Sigismund, who influenced their education. Vertue says that he is related to them through their father’s second wife, Euphuia, which is met with mixed reactions. As the conversation continues, John falls asleep. The travelers are invited to stay and rest in the cramped hut.

In the morning, John is too sore to continue the journey. Drudge suggests that Vertue could reach the coast and return in a day, allowing John to stay and rest. Despite John’s reluctance, Mr. Neo-Angular insists that he stay, explaining that his duty requires him to offer hospitality. John and Mr. Neo-Angular talk, and Neo-Angular says that Mother Kirk could carry John across the canyon. However, John is uncertain, insisting that he wants to cross to find the Island. Neo-Angular criticizes the idea of the Island, associating it with the Halfways and deeming it nonsensical. John counters that his longing for the Island drove him this far and thus can’t be entirely bad. Neo-Angular says that everything on this side of the canyon is corrupt and that John misunderstood Mother Kirk and Reason. John points out Neo-Angular’s lack of experience with the Island and Mr. Halfways, saying that his encounters with them gave him deeper insight. John apologizes, and Neo-Angular reminds him that patience is also part of his duty.

Mr. Humanist takes John to see the garden intended to sustain their new culture. The garden is indistinguishable from the surrounding wasteland without fences or walls. Mr. Humanist explains that they abandoned old gardening styles in favor of a more minimalist approach. While the garden is not currently growing well, they considered themselves pioneers. When John suggests digging to improve its productivity, Mr. Humanist dismisses his idea, explaining that the ground is solid rock below an inch of dirt and that disturbing it would remove the illusion.

Late that evening, Vertue returns to the hut and collapses from exhaustion. He warns the others that they are all in danger. He also confirms that there is no way over the canyon to the north, making their journey futile. After eating with the others, Vertue prepares to explain what happened to him.

Vertue describes the desolate landscape leading to the mountains, occupied by fierce dwarfs following a man named Savage. Drudge, feeling at home among the red dwarfs, stayed behind while Vertue continued with the dwarf guards. Savage’s stronghold, a hall perched high above the sea, was filled with caves inhabited by countless dwarfs, which made the mountain resemble an ant hill. Vertue met Savage, a nearly giant man, and a woman named Grimhild, who turned out to be Mr. Halfways’s elder daughter. Savage advocates for violence and heroism and shuns the people of Claptrap, whom he sees as weak. He thinks of Humanist and Neo-Classical as fools as well. Savage plans to lead the dwarfs into war and promises a gruesome end for Humanist and Neo-Classical. Vertue says that he returned to the hut to urge them all to leave before Savage and the dwarfs arrive.

Neo-Angular says he wants to meet Savage, while Humanist sees Savage and his dwarfs as the embodiment of everything he opposes. John questions how they plan to fight, and Neo-Classical suggests that Vertue’s story might have been a dream. Vertue, exhausted, doesn’t argue, and everyone goes to sleep.

John and Vertue leave and travel south. Vertue confides his doubt to John and questions his previous choices. He feels torn between the lack of purpose he sees in the lives around him and his own aimlessness. John suggests that they rest. As night falls and the cold intensifies, Vertue becomes unresponsive. John searches for him in the dark, questioning whether Vertue was ever real.

John wakes alone and begins to search for Vertue again. After continuing his trek south, he finds Vertue unconscious but alive. John revives him but realizes that Vertue cannot see or speak. He takes Vertue’s hand and leads him southward.

John and Vertue reach Mr. Sensible’s now-abandoned house. Upon reaching the road, they see sunlight for the first time in days. John notices a mound of earth through a gate where turnips are growing. He teaches Vertue how to feed himself again, and they fall asleep by the hedge.

John wakes to find Vertue still sleeping and decides to look around at the sunlit fields, woods, and farmhouses. He wakes Vertue and leads him down the road. Primroses flank the road that cuts through the woods. Eventually, they reach an old, red house. The Steward who lives there, Mr. Broad, welcomes them.

Mr. Broad, John, and Vertue have tea, and John tells stories about their travels. Mr. Broad says he wants to visit the three men at the hut and speaks fondly of his friend, Mr. Sensible, though he notes their differing views. John, seeking guidance on crossing the canyon, finds Mr. Broad’s responses on the importance of reinterpreting great truths and questioning the infallibility of Mother Kirk to be vague. Eventually, John decides to continue his journey despite Mr. Broad’s offer for him to stay. He gets directions to Mr. Wisdom’s house and leads Vertue away again.

The brook by the road turns into a river surrounded by towering trees. John and Vertue arrive at Wisdom’s house. After crossing the river to reach it, they find the door open and the lights on. Mr. Wisdom welcomes them inside. His children help them wash and provide them with food. After eating, they ask John to share his story, and he recounts his journey from his first vision of the Island to the present. Afterward, they show Vertue and John to their plain but comfortable rooms.

John wakes at night to see one of Wisdom’s daughters, Contemplation, standing by his bed. She tells John to follow her, and they cross the moonlit lawn to the chasm separating them from the forest. Despite its size, Contemplation says that John can make it. John jumps across the chasm and lands on a mountaintop with Contemplation beside him. They continue until they reach the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea. There, John sees the Island. Contemplation tells him that with more practice, he can jump directly to the Island. John turns to speak to her but instead wakes in Wisdom’s house.

Mr. Wisdom warns John and Vertue against believing that the Island and the eastern mountains are either physical places or simply illusions. Instead, he says the reality is something in between. Afterward, when Vertue is taken for further care, John spends the day exploring the valley. He finds the chasm again. A young man from Wisdom’s house arrives, explains that they are at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and tells John that it cannot be crossed. The mountains and forests visible on the other side are not an illusion but also cannot be reached.

Mr. Wisdom continues to teach John and Vertue. He explains that roads and rules are not manmade but a way to understand the land. Wisdom also counters the claim that the Island is a delusion to cover up lust. If a vision leads to disappointment, it is never the genuine desire. While sometimes confused with lesser things, he claims, the longing for the Island remains valid. Wisdom advises against trying to recapture the vision, as it cannot be bound to a specific place or time. He concludes that believing in the Island’s mere existence is of greater good than possessing it.

John talks with the people from the house, noting that they seem to be waiting for something. He wakes in the middle of the night to find someone outside his window who tells him to join them. When he says the window is too high, he is told that it isn’t in the moonlight. He jumps out and finds himself leaping across the lawn with Wisdom’s children, who lead him to the woods. There, they reveal a hidden feast and explain that they supplement their strict household meals with these secret indulgences. As the night progresses, the group plays various games before the party disperses. John doesn’t remember much of the night when he wakes.

John looks for signs at breakfast that Wisdom’s children remember what happened the night before. He asks a few questions about it, but they deny any memory of the things he recollects happening. Their denial makes John question if it had all been his dream or a secret among them. However, the irritated responses from some of Wisdom’s children suggest the latter.

Wisdom explains that the Island, roads, and rules are real in some sense. He elaborates that our perceptions of the world are imaginations of a collective Mind. He says that an individual’s deepest desires reflect a desire for something beyond reality. The constant seeking represents the tension between the spiritual and mortal selves. He also talks about the story of the Landlord’s Son, who lived among men and was killed. He says that the rules are not arbitrary but expressions of the spiritual self-imposed on the mortal. Wisdom concludes that Vertue is almost healed.