- Christian and Faithful are approached by a man named Talkative who joins up with them on the road. They all begin talking together… or, rather, Talkative talks at them. What a shocker.
- He tells them how much he loves to talk about righteous things, Christ, and heaven. But it becomes clear that he only likes to talk about them—he can talk the talk but he can't walk the walk.
- Christian pulls Faithful aside and gives him the scoop on their new friend. Christian explains that Talkative represents sinfulness in several different ways.
- God, he says, is not interested in words, but in actions. God wants those who back up what they say.
- Because of this, Talkative's religion is empty and actually "a stain" upon religion's name (P428). This hollowness, Christian says, is something that Talkative even spreads to those who are duped by him.
- Christian makes the analogy that saying and doing are like the body and the soul. Like a body without a soul, saying without doing is dead. Christian further emphasizes Christ's teaching of practicing faith and that we will be judged by the "fruits" of our work and faith (P432).
- Faithful is convinced not to trust Talkative and is told by Christian to start the conversation again, this time asking Talkative plainly about the proof of his faith.
- Talkative reveals that he sees no difference between talking about laws and actually observing them, which sets Faithful into teacher-mode.
- Talkative gets impatient.
- Faithful goes on to explain the ways in which grace is made apparent—either in a person's soul, or to people who see the person and his actions.
- He finally puts the question to Talkative—is the grace in his life apparent in this way? Or only in talk?
- Talkative is really put-out by Faithful's questions. Faithful admits the reports he had heard of Talkative call him "a shame to all professors" (i.e., all who profess faith) as a whore is "a shame to all women" (P448). Ouch.
- Talkative takes his leave and Christian bemoans the bad name that men like Talkative give to religion in their falseness.
- Having continued on together, the two look back and see Evangelist approaching from behind. Evangelist is pleased that they've made it this far and are keeping in good spirits, but he warns them that they can't afford to slow down yet.
- As he tells them, "Ye are not yet out of the gun-shot of the devil" (P462). Oh dang—the devil has a gun!
- He warns them that there are harder struggles to come and that they'll have to be ready to resist sin to the point of bloodshed.
- Christian begs Evangelist to give them a more precise idea of what is ahead and how they can defend themselves. To this, Evangelist replies that they should always expect trial when they come to cities on the journey, and he warns that one of them will have to face death for his faith. At the same time, though, this person is the lucky one since he will get to the Celestial City first through his sacrifice. Finally, he advises them to remember all this when they come to the town and to behave honorably at all costs.
- Christian and Faithful come to the town of Vanity Fair, which the narrator goes on to describe in detail, quoting the verse from Ecclesiastes "All that cometh is vanity" (P465).
- The Fair was begun almost five thousand years ago when Beelzebub, Apollyon, and Legion set up the fair to sidetrack pilgrims on the path to the Celestial City.
- The fair is stocked not only with all kinds of worldly goods, but also with things that either are not or should not be bought and sold.
- All kinds of things are sold here: gold, servants, silver, land, whores, and titles.
- What happens in Vanity Fair stays in Vanity Fair.
- With all of this, there are also lots of shows and entertainments—and lots of crime. There is a row or street for every country's goods (Britain, France, Italy, etc.) but the row with the flashiest and vainest goods belongs to Rome, or the Catholic Church.
- Bunyan makes sure to remind us that England has "taken a dislike" to those goods (P470).
- Psst—Bunyan isn't too keen on Catholicism.
- Bunyan reveals that the Fair is as old as Christ and that he passed through there as well, where the devil tried to tempt him with wealth and power.
- When Christian and Faithful enter Vanity Fair, they stick out like sore thumbs.
- Dressed in the clothing from the Shining Ones, speaking a spiritual language, and completely uninterested in the wares of the vendors, Christian and Faithful dumbfound the people of the Fair.
- When asked what they would buy, they say they would buy truth. This gives rise to a lot of shouting and mocking until a huge scene is created and the overseer of the Fair is called to question them.
- Even though Christian and Faithful claim to have done nothing to give offense or cause harm, the overseer decides to lock them up in a cage simply for causing the confusion.
- Put on display in the cage, Christian and Faithful create a division among the fair-goers. Some say they're innocent; some say they're trouble-makers.
- The examiners, or judges of the city, decide that the men are guilty of causing an upset in the town. Christian and Faithful are then imprisoned and beaten, all while bearing themselves quietly as Evangelist had told them to do. This behavior in itself, Bunyan tells us, is enough to convert a number of people from the Fair.
- The men of the Fair sentence Christian and Faithful to death and put them back in the cage to wait.
- Here, Christian and Faithful remember what Evangelist told them, that only one would die. Bunyan tells us that each of them secretly hoped it would be him so that he could get to the Celestial City first.
- The trial is presided over by Lord Hategood (wow, that guy sounds trustworthy), who proclaims that Christian and Faithful are guilty of disturbing the peace and undermining the government of the city.
- Faithful responds that he is a man of peace and never tried to upset anyone.
- As the king of Vanity Fair is Beelzebub, however, the enemy of Faithful's own Lord, then Faithful himself must be pitted against him.
- Three witnesses are brought to the bar: Envy, Superstition, and Pickthank (another word for a flatterer).
- Envy is sworn in and testifies that Faithful has said that his principles as a Christian are in opposition to the laws and ways of Vanity Fair.
- Superstition testifies that while he doesn't know Faithful, he's sure the man is evil. Also, he's heard Faithful condemn the people of the Fair to hell for not following the ways of his God. Finally, Pickthank claims to have known Faithful a long time and to have heard him rave against the lords and other powerful men of Vanity Fair—including Lord Hategood himself.
- Faithful asks, and is given permission, to speak in his own defense. In response to Envy, he says he has only claimed that whatever goes against the word of God is opposed to Christianity.
- To Superstition, he replies that there can be no real worship of God without a "divine revelation of the will of God" (P495).
- To Pickthank, Faithful denies having railed or shouted anything, but he confirms that the nobles of Vanity Fair are better suited to hell.
- The Judge, Lord Hategood, speaks to the Jury. He reminds them of the tradition of the Fair's law, reaching back to the Book of Exodus, and that Faithful has admitted his opposition to that rule of law.
- Because of this, the Judge claims that he deserves to die.
- The jury is made up of Mr. Blindman, Mr. No-good, Mr. Malice, Mr. Love-lust, Mr. Live-loose, Mr. Heady, Mr. High-mind, Mr. Enmity, Mr. Liar, Mr. Cruelty, Mr. Hate-light, and Mr. Implacable.
- Whoa there. That doesn't sound like a jury of Faithful's peers.
- Together, they quickly confer and return with the sentence of guilty.
- Faithful is taken by the men of Vanity Fair, ridiculed, tortured, stoned, and, finally, burnt at the stake.
- Ouch.
- The narrator tells how he saw a chariot with horses nearby all of this, waiting for Faithful.
- After Faithful died, the narrator saw him taken on it into the sky toward the Celestial City. Swing low, sweet chariot indeed.
- Christian is taken back to prison, but, by the will of God, eventually gets out and continues on his way.
- Christian sings of the triumph of Faithful's life and courage over death and the violence of the faithless.
- Christian is accompanied from Vanity Fair by Hopeful, who was converted by the behavior and speech of the Christians on trial.
- Bunyan notes that the sacrifice of Faithful has given birth to the faith and salvation of another. Hopeful assures Christian that many others from the town will also follow soon.
- Christian and Hopeful meet with By-ends, who comes from the town of Fair-speech.
- He declines, at first, to tell Christian and Hopeful his name, but walks and talks with them for a while about his family and the way of life in Fair-speech.
- He talks proudly about the noble family of his wife ("She was my Lady Faining's Daughter" (P514)) and the two ways in which their practices differ from most Christians'.
- First, By-ends explains, they never row against the tide; and second, they prefer religion most when it is pleasant to practice and gains the favor of others.
- Christian draws Hopeful aside and says that he suspects that this is Mr. By-ends, a man he's heard of.
- He asks Hopeful to put the question to him, but By-ends claims that that is only a nickname given by his enemies. Christian says he'll allow By-ends to continue with them, but cautions that he'll have to be willing to "own religion in its rags, as well as when he is in his silver slippers" (P521).
- Did Christian just compare religion to Cinderella?
- By-ends refuses to forfeit his "principles," so Christian and Hopeful desert him and carry on themselves.