City of Glass

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2007

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapters 1-5

Part 1, Chapter 6-Part 2, Chapter 10

Part 2, Chapters 11-15

Part 3, Chapter 16-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Part 3, Chapter 16-EpilogueChapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 3: “The Way to Heaven”

Part 3, Chapter 16 Summary: “Articles of Faith”

Instead of feeling happy to see her mother awake, Clary’s pent-up anger at the secrets her mother kept comes rushing out. Her mother argues she hid the Shadowhunter world from Clary to protect her, which only makes Clary angrier. Her mother had no right to make unilateral decisions about Clary’s life without consulting her, and knowing she’ll just say more hurtful things, Clary runs from the house. Simon goes after her, and from a hill overlooking Alicante, they watch as downworlders gather outside the city. At sundown, the Clave will decide whether they ally with the downworlders to fight Valentine’s demons or surrender to his demands. Clary can’t help but feel that whatever happens “[will] change the workings of the whole Shadowhunting world” (367).

Simon tells Clary how he became a vampire—about the compulsion to return to the Hotel Dumort that he finally heeded after realizing Jace and Clary truly loved each other. He’ll always love Clary as an important person in his life, and Clary is grateful for his friendship. At sunset, the downworlders outside the city start to leave—the Clave has decided to submit to Valentine’s rule. Clary remembers the images the imprisoned angel in Valentine’s house showed her, particularly one of an unfinished rune. Suddenly, she understands it’s a binding rune that allows Shadowhunters and downworlders to share their abilities.

Clary rushes to the meeting hall, where she tells the gathered Shadowhunters about her ability to create new runes, proving it by drawing a rune that allows her to appear as the person each individual most loves. To a skeptical and curious crowd, Clary details what life under Valentine’s rule will be like—living with constant fear that he will come after them for ever having had contact with a downworlder. She begs the Shadowhunters to fight and explains the rune that will let them share downworlder abilities. She knows they can win, but the Shadowhunters have to agree to an alliance with the downworlders; she explains that “if [they] don’t fight beside them, the runes won’t work” (380).

Part 3, Chapter 17 Summary: “The Shadowhunter’s Tale”

While the Shadowhunters debate Clary’s idea, Clary’s mom tells Clary about her past—falling in love with Valentine and being part of a great movement to bring more freedom to Shadowhunter society. When Luke was bitten, he came to Jocelyn for help, but Valentine chased him away and told Jocelyn that Luke killed himself. After that, Clary’s mom fell into a type of depression, believing it was partly due to being pregnant with Clary’s brother. Valentine made potions to help, but they only made her feel worse. When the baby was born, Clary’s mom knew something was wrong because his eyes were an inhuman black, “fathomless as tunnels dug into his skull” (392).

Jocelyn eventually learned that Valentine lied about Luke and about the demon blood he gave their son. After Valentine faked his death, Jocelyn, pregnant with Clary, ran to New York and hid Clary from the Shadowhunter world. When Valentine finally found and kidnapped her, he talked to her sleeping form, revealing the truth about their son—the demon blood made him loyal, but empty and unfeeling. Clary argues that isn’t true; Jace is nothing like that. Her world is turned upside down when Jocelyn says, “I am not [...] talking about Jace” (402).

Sebastian, not Jace, is Clary’s brother with demon blood in his veins. Valentine experimented on both Clary and Jace with angel blood, the source of their unique abilities, but only Sebastian received the demon blood. Clary wants to find Jace to tell him the truth, but before she can leave, Luke arrives with the news that the Clave will use Clary’s rune to bond with downworlders and fight.

Part 3, Chapter 18 Summary: “Hail and Fairwell”

Jace tracks Sebastian to a cave, where Sebastian and Valentine discuss how they will rig the battle against the Shadowhunters. Valentine calls Sebastian “Jonathan,” and Jace realizes Sebastian is Valentine’s demon son right before Sebastian knocks Jace unconscious.

In Alicante, Shadowhunters and downworlders pair up for the impending battle. Alec pairs with Magnus, the two sharing a kiss in front of the entire hall, and Luke partners with Jocelyn, both of them awkward around each other. Raphael, the leader of the New York vampires, arrives as a projection. The vampires, who had initially declined to help, are willing to barter their support in exchange for Simon so they can kill him for being a daylighter abomination. Though the vampires would be a great help, Luke refuses to give them Simon—unlike Valentine, he “won’t buy [their] cooperation with an innocent life” (429).

Simon overhears the conversation between Luke and Raphael. He decides to give himself up because the Shadowhunters need the vampires—if the Shadowhunters win, an ongoing Shadowhunter-vampire alliance is possible, but it’s something that won’t happen without giving the vampires what they want. Reluctantly, Clary draws the mark of Cain on Simon’s forehead, which will reflect any harm to Simon sevenfold on its perpetrator. She doesn’t know what long-term effects there might be, to which Simon says, “Let’s hope we get the chance to find out” (440).

Part 3, Chapter 19 Summary: “Peniel”

Simon meets the vampires and reveals the rune, making them change their minds about killing him. Since Luke knew nothing about the rune, the vampires will honor the deal—with the stipulation that Simon fights too. Frightened, Simon agrees.

Jace regains consciousness, bound in the cavern where he found Valentine and Sebastian. Using a strange sword, Sebastian opens a portal, and an army of demons marches into the cave, “as if the earth had torn open and hell had poured through” (449). While the demons attack the Shadowhunters, Valentine plans to use all three Mortal Instruments to summon the angel Raziel and strip the marks from all Shadowhunters not loyal to him, turning them into Forsaken. Sebastian goes to kill Jace, but Jace talks him out of it, saying Valentine will know and be displeased that Sebastian went against his orders. Sebastian cuts Jace free, and the two battle.

Isabelle arrives, having gotten Magnus’s help to track Jace. She fights Sebastian off, but he gets the upper hand, wounding them both badly. As Sebastian uses Isabelle’s whip against her, Jace, thinking of Clary, finds the strength to sneak up on Sebastian and kill him.

Part 3, Chapter 20 Summary: “Weighed in the Balance”

After learning of Valentine’s plan through one of his spies, Clary portals to Lake Lyn, where Valentine captures her, using runes to bind and silence her. Before he can begin the raising spell, Jace arrives, wielding Sebastian’s sword. Valentine is shaken that Jace killed Sebastian, and Jace levels the sword at Valentine, intending to end him as well. Valentine summons the Mortal Sword to his side, and Clary sees “a tracery of black light on the air as Valentine [drives] the blade of it into Jace’s heart” (487).

Valentine begins the spell, and Clary crawls to the circle of runes he’s drawn on the ground, tracing her name over the rune Valentine used for himself. Valentine completes the spell, and Raziel, glorious and terrifying in gold and silver-white, rises from the lake. Valentine explains his desire to purify the Shadowhunters and the world, but Raziel sees Valentine’s plan for what it is—hateful prejudice and a bid for power. Raziel kills Valentine and frees Clary from her bindings, telling her he’ll grant one request. Clary asks for Jace’s life, and Raziel resurrects him before vanishing.

Epilogue Summary: “Across the Sky and Stars”

A few days later, Jace attends Valentine’s funeral, sitting far from the mourners to deal with the ceremony on his own terms. When it’s over, Luke joins him, and Jace admits he was conflicted about coming—he can’t help but grieve the loss of Valentine—the man who raised him—even though he doesn’t want to. Luke reassures Jace that his feelings are natural. Valentine was a big part of his childhood, and even if he wasn’t always loving, he made sure Jace was cared for by sending him to the New York Institute and a good family. Jace goes to Amatis’s house in search of Clary. She isn’t there, but Amatis gives Jace a box of things that belonged to his real father—Stephen Herondale.

There’s a celebratory party that night, which Clary attends with her friends. She’s glad to see Simon survived the battle, though given how short the fight was, she’s not sure her runes helped him or anyone else. Simon assures her she helped with far more than the battle—if Clary hadn’t stepped in, they would be “Shadowhunters and Downworlders, hating each other, instead of Shadowhunters and Downworlders, going to a party together” (522). Later, Clary finds Jace. He’s been going through the box Amatis gave him, but he still doesn’t feel any connection to his real father. Clary argues it’s natural for him to feel that way since he never knew the man. She says that Jace is a Lightwood because that’s the family who raised and loved him.

Feeling uncertain, Clary asks Jace if he’s still interested in her since she’s barely seen him since the events at Lake Lyn. Jace professes his love, saying she’s the bravest, strongest person he’s ever met and that he’s nothing without her. They kiss and return to the party, where they settle down with their friends to watch the fireworks.

Part 3, Chapter 16-Epilogue Analysis

Parents keeping secrets from their children is a common trope in young adult science fiction and fantasy. Often, the adult has some kind of supernatural or scientific information or ability that they believe poses a threat to their child. Clary’s mom takes this trope a step further than other similar books by having Clary’s memory erased via magical intervention. As a result, Clary is forced to see her mother as human and flawed and contend with the idea that Jocelyn might not always know what’s best or make the right choices—something Clary doesn’t fully acknowledge or allow herself to feel until she knows her mother is awake and unharmed. Despite her mother’s efforts, Clary becomes embroiled in the Shadowhunter world anyway. Secrets and lies can’t keep forever—the truth will eventually come out.

The binding rune Clary offers the Shadowhunters is a physical manifestation of the expansive possibilities for relations between Shadowhunters and downworlders going forward in the series. The rune will only work if the groups willingly work together, and the members of each pair must draw the rune on their partner, suggesting that the rune is at least partially powered by cooperation. Discovering the rune is also a turning point for Clary. Up until now, she’s been reluctant to reveal her unique ability with runes to the Clave because she feared retribution under the harsh laws of Shadowhunter culture, but fearing that the Shadowhunters will submit to Valentine’s demands and give him total control over the future of the race, Clary can no longer sit by and watch Valentine destroy the future. Not only does Clary intend to become a part of the Shadowhunter world, but she also has come to care for Jace, Isabelle, and others as family and will not let them suffer as a result of Valentine’s warped beliefs.

Simon comes into his own in these chapters, and his journey toward self-acceptance adds nuance to the question of What Makes a Monster. Since becoming a vampire, Simon has fought against becoming more involved in the Shadowhunter world, wanting to return to his life as a human. In Chapter 18, when Simon overhears the argument between Luke and Raphael, the vampire leader, Simon, like Clary, realizes he can no longer remain on the sidelines of his own life. Though it may cost him his life or his freedom, Simon is willing to do what must be done so the Shadowhunters can defeat Valentine and ensure a vampire-Shadowhunter alliance going forward. The mark of Cain that Clary draws on Simon is Simon’s way of thwarting the vampires. He has no confidence they won’t kill him for being a daylighter, but he hopes the rune will be enough of a deterrent. Ultimately, Simon represents a liminal identity, straddling both the human and the shadow world. His self-acceptance creates narrative space for characters who find themselves navigating multiple identities, finding confidence in the whole of who they are.

As the novel reaches its climax, Valentine’s brutality reveals What Makes a Monster. The encounter between Valentine and the angel Raziel in Chapter 20 establishes that Valentine is a true villain. His motives and desires have been circumspect up until this point, but various Shadowhunters and downworlders alike have suggested to Clary and her friends that there is more to Valentine than they know and that the situation is more complex than it seems. In Chapter 20, Valentine overtly confesses his desire to purify the Shadowhunter race and free it from all those who no longer follow the teachings set out by the original Shadowhunters. Raziel doesn’t agree, and he refuses, calling Valentine’s motives corrupt. Raziel remembers the original Shadowhunter values, and Valentine’s desires do not align with them—the original Shadowhunters did not want to condemn anyone who didn’t agree with them to a terrible death, nor did they threaten to destroy their fellow warriors if they didn’t swear unbreakable loyalty—and even if they had, it still wouldn’t justify Valentine’s agenda. Clary ultimately thwarts Valentine’s plan, highlighting the novel’s endorsement of inclusivity and empathy over bigotry and hate. With Valentine’s name literally erased from the position of power, Raziel’s one favor falls to Clary instead.

These final chapters resolve Clare’s plot threads and set up the shifts to come in the latter part of the series. Alec and Magnus’s public kiss symbolizes the two becoming a couple and a step forward, away from antiquated, prejudiced Shadowhunter values. Alec finds the strength to reveal who he is and who he loves without shame, which inspires other Shadowhunters like Aline who are grappling with their own sexuality, as well as their attraction to downworlders. Jace and Clary learn that they aren’t siblings, allowing them to pursue a romantic relationship. Jace destroys Sebastian, but his body is never found, foreshadowing his eventual return as the main antagonist of later books. Clary’s mom and Luke get together, the culmination of 20 years of secret feelings. Though Clary would have once felt weird about this, meeting Jace and then almost losing him has taught her that people deserve to be happy. Simon realizes that he doesn’t have to act like a vampire, vowing to have as normal a life as he possibly can. A potential romantic subplot between him and Isabelle is hinted at and later pursued later in the series.