In The Faerie Queene, Spenser creates an allegory: The characters of his far-off, fanciful Faerie Land are meant to have a symbolic meaning in the real world. In Books I and III the poet follows the journeys of two knights Redcrosse and Britomart and in doing so he examines the two virtues he considers most important to Christian life--Holiness and Chastity. Redcrosse the knight of Holiness is much like the Apostle Peter: In his eagerness to serve his Lord he gets himself into unforeseen trouble that he is not yet virtuous enough to handle. His quest is to be united with Una who signifies Truth--Holiness cannot be attained without knowledge of Christian truth. In his immature state he mistakes falsehood for truth by following the deceitful witch Duessa. He pays for this mistake with suffering but in the end this suffering makes way for his recovery in the House of Holiness aided by Faith, Hope and Charity. With newfound strength and the grace of God he is able to conquer the dragon that represents all the evil in the world.