Warning! This article contains information from The Secret Commonwealth.
Read with caution to avoid spoilers.
Cornelis van Dongen was a man from the Dutch Republic who lived in Prague. Both he and his dæmon, named Dinessa, were assimilated to the elements of fire and water, giving them unusual physical forms.[1]
Biography[]
Childhood[]
Van Dongen was born in the Dutch Republic, to a natural philosopher. His mother died when he was young. Van Dongen and his dæmon, Dinessa, enjoyed helping their father in his workshop and laboratory. One of his father's experiments resulted in Cornelis and Dinessa being assimilated with fire and water respectively. The two became unable to touch each other, and were hidden in the van Dongen house: Cornelis lived in an iron hut while Dinessa lived in a pool of water.[1]
Separation from Dinessa[]
During van Dongen's childhood, his father became unable to meet the expenses of keeping him concealed. This factor, combined with the possibility of the Magisterium discovering van Dongen, resulted in Dinessa being sold to a magician named Johannes Agrippa. Dinessa was separated from van Dongen and taken to Prague.[1]
Search for Dinessa[]
After the sale of Dinessa, she and van Dongen were forcibly kept apart. Once he was set free, he began searching for her. He travelled to Prague, where he met Vaclav Kubiček. Kubiček introduced van Dongen to Lyra Silvertongue, who could help find Agrippa using her clavicula. Agrippa lived at Starý Železniční Most forty-three. Here, van Dongen was reunited with Dinessa, who was being kept in a tank. Upon touching, the two combusted into steam and flames, powering one of Agrippa's machines.
Agrippa then divulged to Lyra that he was van Dongen's father and claimed that he had arranged for Lyra to bring van Dongen to him after the boy escaped.[1]
Physical description[]
Van Dongen had an unnatural physical appearance as a result of the experiment conducted on him. He looked like a furnace, and had a gaunt face with red and black glowing eyes. When he spoke, flames came out of his mouth. His voice sounded like a fireplace, and his body released an intolerable amount of heat, at one point burning Lyra.[1]
Dæmon[]
Van Dongen's dæmon was named Dinessa, and her final form was a mermaid. She had black hair, and was notably beautiful.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
- Agrippa's 'act of parental destruction' is an intentional parallel with Lord Asriel's murder of Roger, hence Lyra's reluctance to dwell on the similarities between the two.[2]
