First, he finds himself in a forest so lovely and harmonious he immediately recognizes it as the Garden of Eden. Second, he encounters Beatrice, his first love, who died very young. She flat-out orders him to wake up, saying she wants him to stop thinking and speaking like “one who dreams.” Third, Dante gets dunked in two sides of a perfectly clear river. The first side makes him forget everything he’s ever done wrong, while the second makes him remember everything he’s ever done right. The last step in purgatory, for all of us, is to return to Eden and regain our lost innocence.
