Like A Dim Light In The Dark

In Dante's Inferno Dante goes through a change from the begining of the book to the end. This is clearly stated by the starting and ending phrase. We see in the begining Dante was starting to fall for sin and evil.He had falled out of the path of truth and it would have been only a matter of time before the Inferno were to be his eternal resting place but he was saved. We can see this lost Dante here: “ I found myself within a shadowed forest; for I had lost the path that does not stray.” (Canto 1 Lines2-3)
We can see that in the end he is no longer lost and ready to continue in the path of virtue and righteousness as we see here: “...until I saw through a round opening, some of those things of beaty Heaven bears. It was from there that we emerged to see-once more-the starts.” (Canto 34 Lines 136-139)
Here it is clear that he has once again returned to the dominion of God and he has achieved a certian recuperation from the darkened path he was falling for at the begining. He was no longer lost yet he still wasn't better from what he started as. This clearly shows that Dante has changed through the book.
Although Dante isn't lost anymore in the end it is important to mention that he doesn't see himself as a sinner anymore. This we see in the first circles where he faints after hearing some of the souls's stories. “ I fainted, as if I had met my death. And then I fell as a dead body falls.” (Canto 5 Lines 141-142)
This differs completly from the Dante towards the end of the book who hears much more horrible stories and sees even more merciless punishments yet he still doesn't react as he did to those punished in the begining.
I interpret this as a general trend which in this particular book seems like the path to finding a way out of hell even if we are still amongst the living. If I were to continue reading, it is likely that this trend would continue. This is possibly a person's path to purifying his soul from the most banal and earthly sins to the places where the soul is corrupted the most, that is the begining of the path of perfection. One can deduce that Dante isn't describing a real hell but rather the deepest and darkest parts of humanity. Although, that still woudn't be enough to describe the book. It necessary to add that it is also his way to escape all of the sins that have become earthly attatchments. This comes from the fact that all the souls that commited sins were forced to stay and live for the rest of eternity in hell (which according to Dante is in the center of the earth) while those who didn't have the weight of guild upon them were able to leave the “Earthly Paradise” completly.
In the next parts of the divine comedy it would expected to see Dante's process of purification and perfection of the soul continue. No longer attached to the earth by sins it would be only a matter of finding true enlightment through God that remains for him. Since I haven't read purgatory I am unsure as to what its purpose is. To my understanding it was the place where sins were to be forgiven and the soul cleansed of them but apparently there is no escape from them, atleast not in hell. It might a place where other earthly attachmentson the soul are removed from it.
Finally, heaven should be the final resting place for those souls with out major sins. Here people should live in peace and enlightment for eternity. By enlightment I mean being able to be in the precesnce of God and even to some extent understand his mysterious ways. Although this is pure speculation it is a likely posibility if one takes to account Dante only improves his spiritual state from the begining of the book (by improve I mean is closer to God). Even if this isn't the exact details of what happens just by the names of the books and by the trend we see in Dante on inferno it is almost certian that he will eventually end in the precence of God.
To the rest of humanity this tries to show the road to salvation which is that of truth. The souls in the Inferno aren't trapped there for all eternity or atleast not in the allegorical meaning of the book. Rather they are trapped there to show us the sins we can fall into and through this knowledge given to us we should ultimately be able to avoid them. The next books should be there to continue Dante's journey through the now reencountered path of truth. Like a dim light in the night showing us a way to God.