Essay on "Hind's Feet on High Places"

“This is the story of how Much-Afraid escaped from her Fearing relatives and went with the Shepherd to the High Places where ‘perfect love casteth out fear.’” So Hannah Hurnard begins “Hinds’ Feet on High places;” an allegory of the Christian life.

The main character, Much-Afraid, has a few problems; one she’s crippled. Her feet aren’t exactly attached to her legs the way they’re supposed to be, and her mouth is twisted, which defaces her face(excuse the pun), and impairs her speech. She and her relatives, the Fearings, lived in the Valley of Humiliation. Some of her relatives include; Gloomy, Spiteful, Foreboding, Dismal, and Craven Fear, who she is being forced to marry. Now Much-Afraid is well, much afraid; she is very timid, weak; and all her relatives bully and torment her. One of the reasons is that she is in the service of the Shepherd, who dells on the High Places and watches over his flocks. (They don’t like the Shepherd.) One day he comes to her and offers to lead her to the High places, and replace her crippled feet with Hind’s Feet so that she could run and bound across the mountains and be free of her horrible relatives. Although her fear holds her back momentarily, she does decide to allow the Shepherd to lead her to the High Places and train her. The Shepherd does not go with her himself, instead he gives her two handmaidens to serve as guides, Sorrow and Suffering. Along the path to the High Places Much-Afraid goes through many trials; the path is constantly leading away from the High Places and she must learn to trust that the Shepherd will not lead her astray. Also her relatives followed her, and at times almost convinced her to turn back.
In the end Much-Afraid makes it to the High Places, and her crooked mouth and crippled legs are cured in the Pool of Healing.

Perhaps the biggest change in the book is in Much-Afraid. In the beginning of the book she is absolutely terrified (Much-Afraid) of her relatives, any other harm, or situation that looks uncertain. However on the way to the High Places she slowly becomes more and more bold, learning to trust the Shepherd. Finally after she reaches the High Places she has changed so much that her name is changed to Glory and Grace, and she want to venture back into the Valley of Humiliation to minister to her “poor and wretched” family.
This book really shows how the path to heaven is so often blotted with doubts, troubles, and placed we are tempted to stop. My favorite parts were when Much-Afraid’s relatives would come to her and try and convince her that the Shepherd was deceiving her. They had names like, Self-Pity, Bitterness, and Pride. They told her things that we would think to ourselves when we are faced with temptations; for example, Self-Pity would say things to her like,
“It is too bad, you know. You really are so devoted, and you have refused him [the Shepherd] nothing, yet this is the cruel way he treats you?”
Then Bitterness would add, “The more you yield to him, the more he will demand of you. He is cruel to you, and takes advantage of your devotion. Sooner or later, he’ll put you on a cross of some sort and abandon you on it.”
Then the Shepherd, who represents Jesus Christ would come to her to reassure her, comfort her, and show her the right paths to take.
Although it wasn’t my favorite book it has a lot good points; sometimes you can really relate the characters in the book. Several times on the way to the High Places the path leads Much-Afraid into a desert, or down into a ravine, and each time she questions the Shepherd and asks, am I really supposed to do this? Your not serious, are you? However the Shepherd always appears to her when she cries out for help. I also liked the way the author gave the characters/places names that match their personality/setting (i.e., Much-Afraid, Self-Pity, the Valley of Humiliation etc.)
Although I wouldn’t recommend this book to some one looking for action or suspense, it is a good book that shows the Christian life from a different point of view.