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Table of Contents | Printable Version Part II, written six years later and as a completely independent work, repeats much of the ground covered in Part I. Christiana, Christian's wife, realizes that she, too, longs to be relieved of her burden. She takes her children and sets out on the same path her husband did. Her comely neighbor, Mercy, joins her. Their journey is at times a repetitive re-hash of the earlier work, lacking the surprise and suspense of the first work. Christiana and Mercy encounter many of the same villains and obstacles, as well as a few new ones. The only difference is that they also have the advantage of a protector in the person of Great-heart. Remarkably, Christiana easily crosses some of the hurdles that Christian had found difficult to overcome. And the ones exclusive to her journey are lacking of the dramatic import that was found in the first work.
The book thus is a religious allegory, describing the journey which Christian and Christiana go through to finally reach the Celestial City. Each part is in itself a separate work, though Part I far exceeds Part II in imagination and execution. Table of Contents | Printable Version |