Clara is the only daughter of Henrika and Cornelius van den Meer. She possesses a radiant beauty that is admired by everyone she encounters. Clara was abducted when she was three or four years old and taken to a windmill. Her parents received a ransom, which they paid to get her back. It cost them a significant amount of their then considerable fortune. Clara believes that the experience made her into a changeling. Since her kidnapping, she is not allowed to leave the house.