Okay, by now you guys are probably sick of me talking about MI so much, so from this post on I promise I'll leave it be until the next book comes out. Okay? Okay. (If you wish to not read my opinion, then by all means, skip this post!)
So Valentine, to me, was a good man with insane views of the Clave and the Law. Yes, the Clave and the Law is "out-of-date", so to speak, but to turn away from family and to do all the horrible stuff he did to his fellow Shadowhunters is wrong. He saw his experiments and his plan as something that would turn out good--at least, that's what he told himself.
I think that he wasn't as bad when he was younger. When Luke said that after his father's death (not his, but Valentine's) by a pack of werewolves he became a more short-tempered, and insane person. Doesn't that remind you of someone? King Henry VIII, perhaps? Henry and Valentine both became very different people after their fathers' deaths. You may not know this, but Henry's father wasn't the kindest man ever, he taxed the people of England heavily and things like that, and made Henry's life a living h-e-double-hocky-sticks during his years as a teenager. Henry was, in a way, imprisoned in him in his own home and was watched all the time and had very few people who were allowed to have visit him. It was like this until his father, Henry VII, died. And in as a result I think that's partly why Henry became the man that he was. He's most recent memories of his father were probably the feeling of loneliness and unloved, resentment and bitterness.
Death of a person you love can really change you, for better or for worse. And sadly, the worst came out of Valentine. So that's where, I think, his hatred towards Downworlders started and his obsession to take down the Clave came from.
A couple of reasons I believe Valentine was, in some ways, a good person is at the end of City of Glass, when he tells Clary about the past and how he feels about Jocelyn. He says that he searched for her because he still loved her--though he was looking for the Mortal Cup, so I highly doubt that he solely looked for her because he loved her. He also said he was devistated when he found her and found out why she left him--she told him that she didn't want her second child to turn into a monster like her first, but what he didn't realize that she was also afraid of what he'd become--and knew that he'd never get her back as soon as Clary was born, even though he still loved her.
Also, when Jocelyn was telling her part of the past, she mentions that during her sleep state Valentine told her that during the end of their marriage he noticed she was unhappy, even though she pretended she wasn't, so he used angel blood, and grounded it up into her food to make her happier--apparently angel blood makes you feel bubbly.
And there's his relationship with Jace. Jace said that at times, he was horrible, killing his pets and abused him, but other times, he showed him how to sail, taught him to be strong and clever, and showed him small acts of affection. At the end of City of Glass, Valentine also tells Clary that he loved Jace's weaknesses, even though he shouldn't.
I believe that Valentine truely loved Jace. Sebastian/Jonathan was too evil and inhuman, too demon-like, and I think Valentine couldn't fully love him for it. So I think Jace saved Valentine in a way. Jace was more human like, and he therefore, was more of a son to Valentine. Sebastian/Jonathan would always be loyal to Valentine and be the "indestructable" warrior that he always wanted, but Jace would always be the like son that I think Valentine, deep down, wanted as well, but could never have with his real son, Sabastian/Jonathan. I think the time that Valentine shared with Jace, kept the good part of him alive.
My belief is that if you are truely evil you wouldn't be worrying about making your wife happy or whether she still loves you. If you are truely evil, you wouldn't care about a "weak" angel boy, who was never your son to began with. No, Valentine was not an evil man, just a man with questionable morals and views. . .
~Ally-Cat
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