Sorrow

Quick Facts

• Role: One of two veiled guides appointed by the Shepherd to lead Much-Afraid toward the High Places
• First appearance: At the foot of the mountains when the Shepherd introduces the twins
• Twin/Companion: Suffering
• Also known as: Joy (after transfiguration)
• Hallmarks: Tall, strong, veiled, silent; a steady, patient guide whose touch hurts but heals

Who They Are

Sorrow embodies the paradox at the heart of the book: the very thing we fear becomes the means of our transformation. Tall, veiled, and wordless, she looks intimidating, yet her presence steadies Much-Afraid’s climbing, shapes her obedience, and tutors her hope. Sorrow’s hidden radiance—only revealed on the High Places—turns the character into a living parable of Spiritual Transformation and Sanctification: when welcomed, sorrow does not diminish the soul; it remakes it for joy.

Personality & Traits

Sorrow is not a tormentor but a teacher. She does not argue or explain; she simply keeps to the Shepherd’s path, offering a hand that is firm enough to hurt and gentle enough to heal. Her pedagogy is patient: she waits until Much-Afraid consents to be helped, then lifts, steadies, and climbs.

• Silent and mysterious: Veiled and largely wordless, she speaks in the “dialect of the mountains,” a language Much-Afraid must grow into—signaling that suffering often teaches in silence.
• Strong and patient: On the Precipice of Injury, Sorrow’s strength and sure footing make progress possible; she never drags, only supports when invited.
• Gentle yet firm: When Much-Afraid slips, Sorrow shortens the safety rope and helps her rise—firm boundaries that protect without shaming.
• Obedient guide: She follows the Shepherd’s route exactly, even when it appears detouring or harsh, modeling trust in a wisdom beyond explanation.
• Joy concealed: In the storm-lashed hut, Sorrow sings of hinds’ feet—an early gleam of the Joy she will one day reveal, and a hint that joy can be smuggled within sorrow.

Character Journey

Sorrow’s “development” is really Much-Afraid’s change in sight. At first, the veiled guide is everything Much-Afraid dreads: pain made personal. But the trail forces an experiment in trust: when Much-Afraid takes Sorrow’s hand, she climbs where she could not walk alone. In the forest hut, the sound of Sorrow singing reframes what her silence had concealed; she becomes a companion, not a threat. Near the Grave on the Mountain, Sorrow supports but does not substitute—she can steady Much-Afraid’s descent into sacrifice, not perform it for her, teaching the limit and dignity of suffering’s role. At last, on the High Places, the unveiled truth stands radiant: Sorrow is Joy, transformed because Much-Afraid accepted her. The guide was never the destination; she was the door by which joy entered.

Key Relationships

• Much-Afraid: With Much-Afraid, Sorrow moves from dreaded escort to trusted friend. By learning to take Sorrow’s hand—especially on the cliff and in the canyon—Much-Afraid discovers that pain received under the Shepherd’s will becomes strength, and that consent, not coercion, is the hinge of transformation.

• Suffering: Sorrow’s twin is her constant counterpart; they labor in seamless unity. Together they embody the book’s insistence that trials come paired and purposeful, each completing what the other begins—an image central to the theme of The Necessity of Suffering and Sorrow.

• the Shepherd: Sorrow is the Shepherd’s commissioned servant, never self-directed. She mediates his guidance without explanation, making her obedience a living invitation for Much-Afraid to trust the path even when the reasons are veiled.

Defining Moments

Sorrow’s key scenes chart how fear turns to reliance and, finally, revelation.

• The introduction at the mountains: Much-Afraid recoils when she hears the names “Sorrow” and “Suffering,” wishing for “Joy and Peace” instead. Why it matters: The scene exposes the human instinct to reject pain—and sets up the book’s thesis that the gifts we want are reached through the guides we dread.

• The Precipice of Injury: Roped together, Sorrow leads the ascent with calm strength, adjusting the line when Much-Afraid slips. Why it matters: The rope becomes a metaphor for surrender; Sorrow’s firmness keeps terror from ruling, teaching that safety lies not in avoiding risk but in trusting the guide.

• The song in the storm: In the forest hut, Sorrow quietly sings of nimble hinds’ feet while winds rage outside. Why it matters: Joy surfaces from within sorrow, reframing her identity and foreshadowing her unveiled name.

• The Grave on the Mountain: During Much-Afraid’s final sacrifice, Sorrow and Suffering support her descent but cannot make the offering for her. Why it matters: Sorrow strengthens agency; she is a companion to obedience, not a replacement for it.

• The transfiguration on the High Places: Sorrow reveals she is Joy, transformed through Much-Afraid’s acceptance. Why it matters: The unveiling completes the allegory—accepted sorrow is not canceled but redeemed, becoming the very joy for which the journey began.

Essential Quotes

"As for their names, I will tell you them in your own language, and later you will learn what they are called in their own tongue. This," said he, motioning toward the first of the silent figures, "is Sorrow. And the other is her twin sister, Suffering."

This naming scene frames Sorrow’s identity as both personal and purposeful. The Shepherd’s promise that their “own tongue” will later be learned anticipates the revelation that Sorrow’s true name is Joy—understanding comes after walking with her.

One morning when the storm was rattling and raging through the forest louder than ever, she noticed Sorrow sitting by the fire singing quietly to herself... How lovely and how nimble are thy feet, O prince’s daughter! They flash and sparkle And can run more fleet Than running water.

The juxtaposition of outer tempest and inner song reveals Sorrow’s hidden core. She does not silence the storm; she sings through it, teaching Much-Afraid that joy is not the absence of trouble but a grace that moves more “fleet than running water” within it.

"Why! You are Suffering and Sorrow. Oh, welcome, welcome! I was longing to find you again." They shook their heads. "Oh, no!" they laughed, "we are no more Suffering and Sorrow than you are Much-Afraid. Don’t you know that everything that comes to the High Places is transformed? Since you brought us here with you, we returned into Joy and Peace."

The reversal completes the journey’s logic: names change because natures are redeemed. Much-Afraid’s welcome signals full acceptance; in response, Sorrow discloses her true identity as Joy, proving that the path to “Joy and Peace” runs straight through the companions we most wanted to avoid.