This chapter begins with Christian and Pliable walking toward the gate mentioned in Chapter 1. Pliable, not knowing what he is getting himself into, asks Christian several questions, related to the goal of their quest, and whether the words in Christian's book are actually true. Pliable seems to be encouraged, and asks to proceed faster, whereupon Christian replies that he cannot because of the burden on his back.
No sooner than he has said this they come suddenly upon a swamp, the Swamp of Despondence, and not paying attention to the ground beneath their feet, they both fall in. Christian, being weighted by his burden, begins to sink, and Pliable asks "Ah, Christian, where are you now?" Christian replies, "To tell the truth, I don't know" Pliable then reacts impatiently saying, "Is this the happiness you've been telling me about all this time? If we make such poor progress at the beginning of our travel, what can we expect between here and our journey's end? If I get out alive, you will enter the fine country without me!" He then struggles back to the side of the swamp closest to his home, and returns back to his own home.
Christian struggles to the other side of the swamp, and as he approaches solid ground, a man named Help approaches him, and asks what he is doing there. Christian relates the story of being sent by Evangelist, and how he fell in the swamp. Help asks, "Why didn't you look for the steps?" Christian says he was so afraid he didn't think to look for any steps, and then Help lends him a hand and pulls Christian up to solid ground.
Christian then asks Help why this swamp exists where it does since it lies directly in the path between the City of Destruction and the Gate. Help replies, "This muddy swamp is the kind of place that cannot be mended. It's the low place into which the scum and filth that accompanies the conviction of sin run continually. It is therefore called the Swamp of Despondence; for commonly as the sinner is awakened about his lost condition there will rise up in his soul many fears, doubts, and discouraging apprehensions, which all flow together and settle in this place. And that's the reason for the worthlessness of this ground."
Help continues by saying that the King is not pleased by the existence of this swamp, and two thousand years' worth of attempts have been made to repair it, but still it remains the Swamp of Despondence. However, steps have been built through the very center of the swamp, but they are not always noticed by troubled travelers. He ends with an encouraging word however, "But the ground is good when they have once gone through the Gate."
Pliable, who abandoned Christian in the swamp, returns home, both to praise for coming to his senses and mockery for considering the quest at all. He soon settles back into his normal life in the City of Destruction, and the author never hears of him again.
Thoughts on this chapter
The swamp is a very prominent threat to one's progress at the beginning of the journey, and I wonder what Bunyan meant by putting it before the gate, that seems to be intentional. It may refer to one attempting to be a Christian by good works, and then suffering from guilt when it becomes obvious that is not the way to go. It may also refer to the conviction of sin one experiences before one throws himself upon the Grace of God. In any case, Help comes in order to get one's feet back on solid ground and continuing on the journey.