37 Clockwork Princess Quotes

Cassandra Clare’s “Clockwork Princess” is the riveting conclusion to The Infernal Devices trilogy, capturing readers’ hearts with its blend of fantasy, romance, and steampunk elements. For those who have journeyed through the shadowy streets of Victorian London with Tessa, Will, and Jem, the novel is a treasure trove of memorable moments and poignant dialogue. In this post, we’ve curated a collection of the top 37 quotes from “Clockwork Princess” that encapsulate the essence of the story and the depth of its characters. Whether you’re a long-time fan or new to the series, these quotes will transport you back to the magical and haunting world Clare so masterfully created.

1. “Jem knotted his fingers in the material of Will's sleeve. "You are my parabatai," he said, "You said once I could ask anything of you.” - Cassandra Clare

2. “And the gold of her ruined wedding dress.” - Cassandra Clare

3. “No one can say that death found in me a willing comrade, or that I went easily.” - Cassandra Clare

4. “You do not want to help us,” Will said to Magnus. “You do not want to position yourself as an enemy of Mortmain’s.” “Well, can you blame him?” Woolsey rose in a whirl of yellow silk. “What could you possibly have to offer that would make the risk worth it to him?” “I will give you anything,” said Tessa in a low voice that Will felt in his bones. “Anything at all, if you can help us help Jem.” Magnus gripped a handful of his black hair. “God, the two of you. I can make inquiries. Track down some of the more unusual shipping routes. Old Molly —” “I’ve been to her,” Will said. “Something’s frightened her so badly she won’t even crawl out of her grave.” Woolsey snorted. “And that doesn’t tell you anything, little Shadowhunter? Is it really worth all this, just to stretch your friend’s life out another few months, another year? He will die anyway. And the sooner he dies, the sooner you can have his fiancée, the one you’re in love with.” He cut his amused gaze toward Tessa. “Really you ought to be counting down the days till he expires with great eagerness.” - Cassandra Clare

5. “Rage flared up in Tessa and she considered belting Woolsey with the poker whether he came near her or not. He had moved awfully quickly while fighting Will, though, and she didn’t fancy her chances. “You don’t know James Carstairs. Don’t speak about him.”“Love him, do you?” Woolsey managed to make it sound unpleasant. “But you love Will, too.”Tessa froze. She had known that Magnus knew of Will’s affection for her, but the idea that what she felt for him in return was written across her face was too terrifying to contemplate.” - Cassandra Clare

6. “THE INFERNAL DEVICES ARE WITHOUT PITY.THE INFERNAL DEVICES ARE WITHOUT REGRET.THE INFERNAL DEVICES ARE WITHOUT NUMBER.THE INFERNAL DEVICES WILL NEVER STOP COMING.” - Cassandra Clare

7. “I am not a certified idiot—" "Lack of certification hardly proves intelligence," Will muttered.” - Cassandra Clare

8. “Father . . . ," Gabriel began. "Father is a worm."Will gave a short laugh. He was in gear as if he had just come from the practice room, and his hair curled damply against his temples. He was not looking at Tessa, but she had grown used to that. Will hardly ever looked at her unless he had to. "It's good to see you've come round to our view of things, Gabriel, but this is an unusual way of announcing it."Gideon shot Will a reproachful look before turning back to his brother. "What do you mean, Gabriel? What did Father do?"Gabriel shook his head. "He's a worm," he said again, tonelessly."I know. He has brought shame on the name of Lightwood, and lied to both of us. He shamed and destroyed our mother. But we need not be like him."Gabriel pulled away from his brother's grip, his teeth suddenly flashing in an angry scowl. "You're not listening to me," he said. "He's a worm. A worm. A bloody great serpentlike thing. Since Mortmain stopped sending the medicine, he's been getting worse. Changing. Those sores upon his arms, they started to cover him. His hands, his neck, h-his face . . ." Gabriel's green eyes sought Will. "It was the pox, wasn't it? You know all about it, don't you? Aren't you some sort of expert?" "Well, you needn't act as if I invented it," said Will. "Just because I believed it existed. There are accounts of it—old stories in the library—” - Cassandra Clare

9. “I am glad,” he said. “They will be able to take care of each other when I am gone, or at least I can hope for it. He says she does not love him, but—surely she will come to love him in time. Will is easy to love, and he has given her his whole heart. I can see it. I hope she will not break it.” - Cassandra Clare

10. “Achilles was murdered with a poisoned arrow, and Jason died alone, killed by his own rotting ship. Such is the fate of heroes.” - Cassandra Clare

11. “Always when Will did something to protect Tessa, Jem thought it was for his sake, not for Will's. Always Will wished Jem could be entirely right. Each needle prick had it own name. Guilt. Shame. Love.” - Cassandra Clare

12. “Tessa touched his wrist lightly with her hand. "Be brave," she said. "It's not a duck, is it?” - Cassandra Clare

13. “I am not going to live, and I can choose to be as much for her as I can be, to burn as brightly for her as I wish, and for a shorter time, than to burden her with someone only half-alive for a longer time. It is my choice, William, and you cannot make it for me.” - Cassandra Clare

14. “Perhaps not," said Will, who had ears like a bat's. "But I would make a radiant bride.” - Cassandra Clare

15. “I don't suppose it would help if I told you that is the way life is. The good suffer, the evil flourish, and all that is mortal passes away.” - Cassandra Clare

16. “I would rather insult you than lose you, he said, and before any of them could make a move to stop him, he cast both items into the fire.” - Cassandra Clare

17. “They say you cannot love two people equally at once,” she said. “And perhaps for others that is so. But you and Will—you are not like two ordinary people, two people who might have been jealous of each other, or who would have imagined my love for one of them diminished by my love of the other. You merged your souls when you were both children. I could not have loved Will so much if I had not loved you as well. And I could not love you as I do if I had not loved Will as I did.” - Cassandra Clare

18. “It was good to be here with Jem and Cecily an Charlotte, to be surrounded by their affection, but without her there would always be something missing, a Tessa-shaped part chiseled out of his heart that he could never get back.” - Cassandra Clare

19. “Jem cried out with all his remaining strength. You cannot go where I am going! Nor would I want that for you!” - Cassandra Clare

20. “Wo men shi jie bai xiong di-we are more than brothers, Will.” - Cassandra Clare

21. “If there is a life after this one", he said, "let me meet you in it, James Carstairs.” - Cassandra Clare

22. “And you should not be out and about in your nightgown. There are Lightwoods wandering these halls.” - Cassandra Clare

23. “But what of you?” Gabriel said, and theywere very close now, almost touching. “It isyour choice to make now, to stay or return.”“I will stay,” Cecily said. “I choose thewar.”Gabriel let out the breath he hadn’t realizedhe was holding. “You will give up yourhome?”“A drafty old house in Yorkshire?” Cecilysaid. “This is London.”“And give up what is familiar?”“Familiar is dull.”“And give up seeing your parents? It isagainst the Law …”She smiled, the glimmer of a smile.“Everyone breaks the Law.”“Cecy,” he said, and closed the distancebetween them, though it was not much, andthen he was kissing her—his hands awkwardaround her shoulders at first, slipping on thestiff taffeta of her gown before his fingersslid behind her head, tangling in her soft,warm hair. She stiffened in surprise beforesoftening against him, the seam of her lipsparting as he tasted the sweetness of hermouth. When she drew away at last, he feltlight-headed. “Cecy?” he said again, hisvoice hoarse.“Five,” she said. Her lips and cheeks wereflushed, but her gaze was steady.“Five?” he echoed blankly.907/1090“My rating,” she said, and smiled at him.“Your skill and technique may, perhaps, requirework, but the native talent is certainlythere. What you require is practice.”“And you are willing to be my tutor?”“I should be very insulted if you chose another,”she said, and leaned up to kiss himagain.” - Cassandra Clare

24. “Of course you can have a true Shadowhunter name," Will said. "You can have mine."Tessa stared at him, all black and white against the black-and-white snow and stone. "Your name?"Will took a step toward her, till they stood face-to-face. Then he reached to take her hand and slid off her glove, which he put into his pocket. He held her bare hand in his, his fingers curved around hers. His hand was warm and callused, and his touch made her shiver. His eyes were steady and blue; they were everything that Will was: true and tender, sharp and witty, loving and kind. "Marry me," he said. "Marry me, Tess. Marry me and be called Tessa Herondale. Or be Tessa Gray, or be whatever you wish to call yourself, but marry me and stay with me and never leave me, for I cannot bear another day of my life to go by that does not have you in it.” - Cassandra Clare

25. “She did not belong to Will-she was too much herself to belong to anyone, even Jem-but she belonged with them, and silently he cursed the Consul for not seeing it.” - Cassandra Clare

26. “We are not our parents, Gabriel. We do not have to carry the burden of their choices or their sins.” - Cassandra Clare

27. “For five years it had been his absolute truth. Jem and Will. Will and Jem. Will Herondale lives, therefore Jem Carstairs lives also.” - Cassandra Clare

28. “Truth is brighter than Light Falsehood darker than nightRevenge is keener than Axeand Love is softer than melting wax” - Cassandra Clare

29. “What I do know is that if we are born again, I will meet you in another life, and if there is a river, you will wait on the shores for me to come to you, so that we can cross together.” - Cassandra Clare

30. “People were intrinsically selfish, and many hated the idea of a woman in charge of the Institute. They would not put themselves at risk for her. Only a few weeks ago he would have said the same thing about himself. Now, knowing Charlotte, he realized to his surprise, the idea of risking himself for her seemed an honor, as it would be to most Englishmen to risk themselves for the queen.” - Cassandra Clare

31. “Henry's breath hissed out through his teeth. That ba-bad man, he finished, with a quick glance at Cecily, who rolled her eyes.” - Cassandra Clare

32. “Come back to me, Tessa. Henry said that perhaps, since you had touched the soul of an angel, that you dream of Heaven now, of fields of angels and flowers of fire. Perhaps you are happy in those dreams. But I ask this out of pure selfishness. Come back to me. For I cannot bear to lose all my heart.” - Cassandra Clare

33. “I did not think you would be angry, Jem burst out, and it was like ice cracking across a frozen waterfall, freeing a torrent. We were engaged, Tessa. A proposal-an offer of marriage-is a promise. A promise to love and care for someone always. I did not mean to break mine to you. But it was that or die. I wanted to wait, to be married to you and live wit you for years, but that wasn't possible. I was dying too fast. I would have given it up-all of it up-to be married to you for a day. A day that would never have come. You are a reminder-a reminder of everything I am losing. The life I will not have.” - Cassandra Clare

34. “There's nothing you could have done that would cause me to cease loving either of you. Will is myself, my own soul, and if I am not to have the keeping of your heart, then there is not other I would rather have that honor.” - Cassandra Clare

35. “I love you so much, so incredibly much," he went on, "and I forget when you're close to me, I forget who you are. I forget that you're Jem's. I'd have to be the worst sort of person to think what I'm thinking right now. But I am thinking it.” - Cassandra Clare

36. “You said I am a good man," he said. "But I am not that good a man. And I am--I am catastrophically in love with you.” - Cassandra Clare

37. “—Jem es la mejor parte de mí. —Entonces, ¿qué soy yo? —Eres mi debilidad. —Y Tessa es tu corazón.” - Cassandra Clare