| “ | Neither Clave nor Covenant have ever done anything for me. I owe them nothing. | ” |
–Madame Dorothea, City of Bones | ||
Madame Dorothea was a mundane and the neighbor of Jocelyn and Clary Fray in Park Slope. Her half of the brownstone was utilized as a Sanctuary, and she served as its caretaker and of the Portal after the death of the witch that adopted her.
Biography
Her mother was a Control who adopted her to ensure that there would be someone to look after the Sanctuary and the Portal in her apartment after she died.
The other half of the brownstone was owned by Jocelyn Fray who purchased the site in order to have quick access to the Door. Jocelyn painted a set of tarot cards for her, with the Mortal Cup hidden inside the Ace of Cups card, and in return, Dorothea would give her Downworld gossip concerning Valentine. This eventually paid off, as it was her who warned Jocelyn of Valentine's sightings in New York in 2007.
Dorothea opened a psychic's shop called "Madame Dorothea, Seeress and Prophetess" in her half of the brownstone and used it as a sanctuary for Downworlders, whom the Clave called criminals, to be used at a price. Despite customers being infrequent, she rarely came out of her apartment. Presumably, she does have some mundane customers as she has a large collection of fortune telling spell books and other artifacts, but these things are only for show.
Clary once saw Magnus Bane, in the form of a cat, coming out of Madame Dorothea's apartment. She was perplexed, as she didn't think Dorothea had a cat.
Jace and Clary returned to Clary's house for some of her belongings, where they were attacked by Forsaken, which Jace ultimately killed. Madame Dorothea heard the racket and advised them not to go back upstairs as there were more Forsaken waiting there. She then invited them up to her apartment and served them cucumber sandwiches and tea. Dorothea quickly admitted to being a fake—a "hedge-witch"—though she claimed that her adoptive mother was a true witch—a warlock. She explained that she was adopted because her mother needed someone to look after the Sanctuary after her but, being a warlock, could not bear her own children. She attempted to read Clary's future and was the first to suggest there may be a block in Clary's memories. Clary then used the Portal to go to Luke's, against Jace's protests, forcing Jace to follow her through it.
She was later possessed by the Greater Demon Abbadon, who also wanted the Mortal Cup for Valentine, sometime after her visit from Jace and Clary. Abbadon then hid himself in the Portal so as to remain undetected by the Shadowhunters' Sensors. When Clary came to her apartment to retrieve the Cup from the tarot card, Dorothea opened the door of the Portal, only to be consumed and killed by Abbadon. Abbadon then proceeded to attack Jace, Clary, Isabelle and Alec Lightwood, just before Simon Lewis arrived and saved them by shooting out the skylight with an arrow, allowing light into the room and incapacitating the demon.[1]
Physical description
She is said to look elderly, and she has badger-striped hair tied in a messy bun pinned to the top of her head. She dresses in masses of vibrant-colored silk and wears gold chains on her wrists and throat, and chandelier earrings. She always wears faded carpet slippers and occasionally a turban in a neon color.
Appearances
- City of Bones (first and only appearance)
- City of Glass (mentioned only)
- City of Fallen Angels (mentioned only)
- City of Heavenly Fire (mentioned only)