The Evolution of Alec Lightwood

By: Catnip (edited by: Clockworkprincess)

Cover art by: Nanananana9

Alexander Gideon Lightwood plays an integral role in the Shadowhunter Chronicles, and is one of the main characters of the Mortal Instruments and the Eldest Curses series, apart from playing a prominent role in the Dark Artifices. He is well-known as the husband of Magnus Bane, and I’m here to show you that he is much more than just that.

The Angry Young Man

We first see Alec in the Mortal Instruments, in City of Bones. He is shown to us as Jace Herondale’s parabatai, and Isabelle Lightwood’s overprotective and bossy older brother. We don’t like him much, due to his hatred towards Clary, and his dislike for mundanes and Downworlders. He is against any change in his usual lifestyle. He pushes Clary against a wall and threatens her from getting close to Jace. We later learn that he is closeted, and is, in fact, gay.

He is extremely protective of Izzy—no one is good enough for his little sister—and he goes through a great deal of trouble trying to take care of her. He is, in a way, an acting parent to both her and Jace. He is also defensive for Jace. He always believed that he was in Jace’s shadow, the silver to Jace’s gold.

When he meets Magnus Bane, there is a noticeable change in his behavior. The strain of being confined to a specific mindset, of being unable to be who he is, had turned him into a rude and overall unlikeable person. Coming out to just one person made him more open, and kinder than before. When he starts dating Magnus, he is afraid that someone will find out. He is afraid to confess to his parents, however, he almost does, under the effect of the Fearless Rune.

“I’m seeing a Downworlder. In fact, I’m seeing a war—”

Later, in the Accords Hall in Idris, with the whole Shadowhunter community witnessing his act, he kisses Magnus, revealing his true identity to the whole world at once. There is a drastic change in his temperament after doing so; he smiles more often and seems to have a huge weight taken off his shoulders. Magnus and Alec then leave on vacation, and there we see another aspect of Alec—he is kind, and gentle, and is ready to stick with his boyfriend through thick and thin. We can see his love for his siblings, as he writes them postcards. We can see him in a new light as he becomes more compassionate. He helps out numerous people including a faerie girl in the Paris Shadow Market, Rose, even though he never knew her.

Shattered

After the vacation, though, there is another countenance revealed—Alec’s envy. He is jealous of Camille, a vampire who Magnus dated in the 19th century. Camille taunts Alec, saying that she knows more about Magnus than Alec does, and this is a sore topic for him. He tries to find a way to take away Magnus’s immortality but ultimately decides against it. Magnus, however, found out and broke up with him.

During the breakup, Alec was devastated. He could still laugh, and make jokes, but pined for Magnus. Magnus was the one who helped Alec open up, and taught him to embrace his personality without any alterations, and Alec misses him a lot. When Magnus was kidnapped, he goes into a cold-blooded frenzy and kills Meliorn, a faerie knight, without a second thought.

“This is me in pieces.”

After reuniting with Magnus, he was surprised to find that he was not as excited as he thought he would be on the thought of getting back together and agreed only when Magnus says he would open up more. He is smart and now knows that he was not the only wrong one in their fight. He is confident in himself and is confident that though he will miss him, he can move on without Magnus.

Emerging Leader

Somewhere along the line, Lily Chen and Maia Roberts started approaching him with their problems, and Alec worked along with them to help maintain peace in the Shadow World. Their meetings became a weekly occurrence, and soon the Downworlder-Shadowhunter Alliance was formed. The news of this spread far and wide, and Alec was sometimes called in to help deal with issues in keeping the peace. He is a strong leader and knows that change is required. He works hard, maintaining equality in the Shadow World.

They later adopted two kids—Max, and Rafael. Alec was instantly smitten with Max, and we could see from their first interaction, that he was going to make an amazing parent. He constantly makes efforts to make sure that his kids would not ever feel the need to be afraid to be themselves, and that they should not feel repressed in their own home.

He adopted Rafael from the Buenos Aires Shadow Market, where, using his wit, he solved the issue of Clive Breakspear running the Institute. He inspires the Shadowhunters to become the best versions of themselves.

The Blight

Magnus started to fall ill, and Alec grew increasingly worried. When insulted by her, he stood up to Zara Dearborn and told her that he had made tough choices in his life, but he did not regret a thing. Once again, he shows us that he will not tolerate the insult of his family. He is confident in his choices.

Later he was elected Consul, something he had always wanted. This shows the amount of faith and trust the Shadowhunters have in him. Through his efforts, peace between the Downworld and Shadowhunters1something which had not been possible for many years1had been achieved. He was elated and later makes a trying choice—leaving Idris to run the Clave-in-exile. A few weeks later, he married Magnus in Los Angeles, since being the Consul, he got to make laws and could permit Shadowhunters and Downworlders to get married.

Conclusion

Hence, I conclude that Alexander Gideon Lightwood is one of my favorite characters in the series. He has evolved from a conscious young man to an adult who is unafraid to be himself. He leads the Clave into a new era—one of equality and peace between all factions of the Shadow World. He evolved from being rude and unlovable in the first book, to being a fan favorite in the last. His leadership skills are unparalleled. Alec has one of the best character arcs I’ve ever read, and for that reason, he holds a special place in my heart.