Hinds’ Feet on High Places

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1955

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapters 1-4

Part 1, Chapters 5-8

Part 1, Chapters 9-12

Part 1, Chapters 13-16

Part 2, Chapters 17-20

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

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Part 1, Chapters 9-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapter 9 Summary: “Great Precipice Injury”

Set on the path eastward toward the sunrise and toward the mountains, they quickly advance to the foot of the mountains, which more and more appear to be almost vertical and impossible to traverse. Much-Afraid despairs when she realizes the “cliffs completely blocked the way before her, yet the path ran right up to them, then stopped” (65). Suffering points out the upward movement of a hart (deer) who is climbing the cliff and jumping over gaps effortlessly, and before Sorrow and Suffering can convince Much-Afraid to begin the climb, Craven Fear makes a surprise appearance: “Did you really believe, you poor little fool, that you could escape from me altogether?” (66). At a loss for what to do and too afraid to call upon the Shepherd, Suffering takes action and pricks Much-Afraid with a knife in order to goad her into calling for help.

The gambit works, and the Shepherd comes to the rescue, gently chiding Much-Afraid for her reticence and reminding her of what she really desires: the hinds’ feet that will make it possible for her to climb the High Places. Feeling ashamed, she builds another altar, this time finding a larger stone than normal, dark and sharp to the touch, which she proceeds to collect. She hears the Shepherd tell her that this path has led her to the foot of Mount Injury, just one of the many mounts that must be summitted if she is to make her way into the High Places, and that this is to be her next lesson learning “the alphabet of Love” (71). In preparation for their ascent, the Shepherd lashes the three companions together, with Sorrow in the lead and Suffering taking up the rear; before they head off, the Shepherd gives Much-Afraid one last gift, a healing cordial of the “Spirit of Grace and Comfort” (71).

Part 1, Chapter 10 Summary: “Ascent of the Precipice Injury”

Ascending the mount and seeing her enemies glaring up at her from below, Much-Afraid climbs with her companions until she reaches a small cave that has been prepared with the means for them to rest and refresh themselves. Among the cliffs there, she sees another flower, “blood red in color, which glowed like a lamp or flame of fire” (75). She asks its name, and the flower replies: “My name is ‘Bearing-the-Cost,’ but some call me ‘Forgiveness’” (75). Much-Afraid understands that this is the next letter in the alphabet of Love of which the Shepherd spoke and picks up a stone from the path beneath the flower.

Leaving the flower behind, she continues along the path and falls for the first time, cutting herself on the rocks. Suffering takes charge, finds the bottle of cordial the Shepherd gave them, and revives Much-Afraid with a few drops. A short time later, having resumed their climb, the three companions reach the goal of their ascent and find themselves “in a forest of young pine trees […] and the precipice which had looked so impassable actually behind them” (78). There at the top, coming towards them singing, is the Shepherd.

Part 1, Chapter 11 Summary: “In the Forests of Danger and Tribulation”

Healing the wounds that Much-Afraid suffered on the climb, the Shepherd announces to the three that they have come to the Forests of Danger and Tribulation, where they are bound to encounter many storms. Building another altar and collecting yet another stone, she starts out onto the path into the forest. For the first time since leaving them behind, she again encounters her enemies, as Self-Pity, Resentment, Craven Fear, Bitterness, and Pride assault her on the path. This time, however, Much-Afraid does not feel herself bothered by them very much and actually picks up a rock to hurl at Craven Fear, encouraging Sorrow and Suffering to pick up stones as well and join in the counterattack.

Seeing a storm approaching, the three companions rush into a nearby cabin and bolt the door behind them. Refusing to open the door to any of the Fearings who demand to be let in, they refresh themselves with food and hot cocoa while waiting for the storm to pass. Here in the hut, Much-Afraid realizes that Sorrow and Suffering are no longer merely her traveling companions: She has come to consider them true friends.

Part 1, Chapter 12 Summary: “In the Mist”

After the storm passes, the companions embark again on their journey, and Much-Afraid actually finds herself missing the excitement of the storm and depressed by the dreary mist in which they are now walking. She reflects: “In some way the dangers of the storm had stimulated her; now there was nothing but tameness” (88). Pushed by Resentment into thinking that perhaps she is not making any progress and just walking in circles, Much-Afraid begins to doubt that she is going in the right direction. Unable to bear the constant voice of her enemies, she decides to sing to drown out their voices.

While she is singing a song that she learned from Sorrow, the Shepherd appears, and the mist begins to dissipate as he joins her in singing, adding verses to her song of his own creation. Putting aside the worries and regrets that were surfacing in Much-Afraid’s mind, the Shepherd shares with her that he does not see her as she is now, “but as [she] will be when [he has] brought [her] to the Kingdom of Love” (93). Expressing her love for the Shepherd, Much-Afraid even admits that she would follow and love him even if it were possible for him to deceive her, at which point she reaches to the ground in tears and picks up another pebble.

Part 1, Chapters 9-12 Analysis

Having defeated Pride and driven back her other Fearing relations, Much-Afraid begins in Chapter 9 to feel the journey to be almost bearable—“It hardly seemed to matter now that Sorrow and Suffering were still with her because of the hope leaping up in her heart” (64)—but this hope is to be short-lived as her path leads straight into a sheer vertical wall of rock. Almost immediately Much-Afraid is moved from hope to despair as she realizes that her way is blocked by insurmountable cliffs. As Much-Afraid almost breaks under the weight of inconsolable grief, Suffering unveils a knife from within her veil and pricks Much-Afraid with it, shocking her into calling upon the Shepherd for help. Pain is often that which moves us most quickly to avoid evil; it is a universal truth that it is pain and suffering that often cause the human soul to cry out to God for help.

Much-Afraid discovers that she has been led to the foot of Mount Injury, one mountain out of many that the Shepherd could have chosen for her, and it is this that she is called to surmount in her own journey towards enlightenment and transformation in “the Ascent of Love” (71). As she begins the ascent, she is greeted by yet another flower—“Bearing-the-Cost,” a.k.a. “Forgiveness” (75)—representative of the truth that it is only by forgiveness that love can continue to grow and take root within the soul, as the flower attempts to teach her: “I have borne and not fainted; I have not ceased to love, and Love helped me push through” (76).

In the midst of the ensuing storm up on the mountain, as Much-Afraid and her companions travel through the forest of dangers, she realizes that her relation to Sorrow and Suffering has been transformed from one of fear and wariness to one of genuine affection and respect: “In some strange way she began to feel that they were becoming real friends […] She found, too, that now she was accepting their companionship in this way she seemed more alive than ever before to the beauty and delight in the world around her” (85-86). In coming to this realization, Much-Afraid is also coming to understand the strange mountain language of her companions, which she was previously ignorant of, even to the point of being able to understand the words of the song that Sorrow sings to herself by the fireside; becoming acquainted with Sorrow has given Much-Afraid the ability to hear the beautiful melody that comes from sorrow.

Sorrow’s music proves in Chapter 12 to be Much-Afraid’s saving grace, as she is again assaulted by her fears as she wanders through the mists that have descended upon the mountain. Resentment, Bitterness, and Self-Pity appear and cause Much-Afraid to doubt herself and even the Shepherd, unable to discern if she is doing nothing but walking in circles. Allegorically, the fear that one’s progress has been checked is a very real obstacle that must be overcome, and in times where clarity of vision and understanding are lacking, it can be quite formidable. Unable to drown out the voices that assault her from out of the mist, Much-Afraid decides to sing the song she learned from Sorrow as a last resort. To her surprise and delight, she is first met with complete silence, only to be joined on the path by the Shepherd, who begins to sing with her. Sorrow and Suffering have taken root within her heart to such an extent that she is able to express complete trust in the Shepherd, even as he warns her that her most difficult test is yet to come. In response, the human soul can only cry out:

You know that I love you and that I long to trust you as much as I love you, that I long both to love and trust you still more […] It’s myself I am afraid of, never of you, and though everyone in the world should tell me that you had deceived me, I should know it was impossible (95).