Clockwork Angel

The novel concludes with Tessa accepting her power, defeating The Magister, and choosing to accept love from herself and those who truly care about her. The Magister, Axel Mortmain, threatens to kill Jessamine and Sophie unless Tessa agrees to use her powers for him. This choice is the same one offered to Tessa at the start of the novel: marry the Magister and use her powers for him or watch her loved ones be killed. In a reversal of the beginning of the novel, when Tessa attempted to escape the Dark Sisters but was rescued by Will, this time Tessa saves herself and her friends by relying on her own power. She transforms into a corpse, tricking Mortmain into believing she is dead, allowing the Shadowhunters time to apprehend him. Her actions reflect not only her acceptance of her identity as a half-Downworlder but also her final rejection of the limits on Women and Power in Victorian England. After hesitating for much of the novel about whether a young woman like her ought to be a fighter, Tessa embraces her powers and her role in the fight against the Magister. The problems of Women and Power in Victorian England have not been resolved for good, however; Charlotte Branwell will be under even more scrutiny from the Clave in the subsequent books in the aftermath of de Quincey’s false conviction and Nate’s stealing the Pyxis. Tessa and other women will continue to face backlash for taking on traditionally masculine roles. But Tessa has chosen not to allow herself to be limited by the gendered expectations of society any longer.

The concluding chapters of the novel also solidify how Love in the Face of Despair Creates Hope for Tessa. Faced with a seemingly impossible choice between her friends’ lives and her own, Tessa’s love for them and herself gives her the inspiration she needs to save them all. After the battle ends, instead of seeking out Nate, who has disappeared again, Tessa chooses to stay with her found family at the Institute. Their love for her gives her hope and strength to face her uncertain future, but Tessa’s choice also demonstrates that she has learned to recognize and accept real love for herself. Similarly, despite Will and Tessa’s moment of intimacy, Will ultimately chooses to hide his feelings, creating a rift between him and Tessa. Tessa, having learned to give love to those who are willing to accept it and return love to her, chooses not to pursue Will. The author foreshadows her growing connection to Jem at the end of the novel, representing how Tessa has learned to choose healthy relationships, rather than those that are manipulative or one-sided. 

The conclusion of the novel sets up the key conflicts and questions that will carry over into the sequel, Clockwork Prince. Tessa will operate as an ambassador for the Downworlders at the Institute, further developing the themes of identity and prejudice introduced in Book 1. Though The Magister has been captured, Nate is still on the loose, and the Shadowhunters do not yet understand what Mortmain’s plan is and why he needed the Pyxis. Tessa has come to accept her power but still does not understand how Mortmain tricked her mother into a union with a demon, and Brother Enoch alludes to another secret about Tessa’s origins. The final image of the novel is Tessa’s clockwork angel returning to her, but the angel’s origins and powers remain a mystery.