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The Inferno ends with the promise that human beings, having left sin behind, may experience divine truth and peace again. In the final canto of the Inferno, Dante and Virgil leave Lucifer imprisoned in ice at the bottom of Hell and climb down his legs to come out the other side of Hell, on the opposite side of the world. It is night, so Dante and Virgil are able to “see, once more, the stars.” Inferno thus concludes on a note of hope. In medieval literature, stars symbolized divine wisdom. As Dante progressed through Hell, he was closed off from such wisdom; Virgil’s sage advice could offer only human wisdom, not godly wisdom. Dante’s sight of the stars now shows that he has been transformed by his journey through Hell and is ready to receive the light of divine truth. The image of the stars also conveys to reader the hope and peace of Heaven, after the chaotic torments of Inferno.
