Tessa Gray, to Clary Fray, pg. 716
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"I feel a kinship with you, too, you who have lost both brother and father. I know you have been judged and spoken of as the daughter of Valentine Morgenstern, and now the sister of Jonathan. There will always be those who want to tell you who you are based on your name or the blood in your veins. Do not let people decide who you are. Decide for yourself. That freedom is not a gift; it is a birthright. I hope that you and Jace will use it."

— Cassandra Clare

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets ""I feel a kinship with you, too, you who have lost both brother and father. I know you have been judged and spoken of as the daughter of Valentine Morgenstern, and now the sister of Jonathan. There will always be those who want to tell you who you are based on your name or the blood in your veins. Do not let people decide who you are. Decide for yourself. That freedom is not a gift; it is a birthright. I hope that you and Jace will use it."" in the context of "Tessa Gray, to Clary Fray, pg. 716" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Cassandra Clare" (The Mortal Instruments, City of Heavenly Fire (2014)) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Cassandra Clare

About Cassandra Clare

Cassandra Clare (born July 27, 1973) is the pseudonym of the young adult author