Beatrice Prior

From Abnegation to Dauntless, she defied the system as a Divergent.

Beatrice "Tris" Prior is the viewpoint character in Divergent and Insurgent, sharing that role with Tobias "Four" Eaton in Allegiant. Born in Abnegation to Andrew and Natalie Prior, she has dark blonde or light brown hair, wide gray-blue eyes, a long thin nose, and short, skinny stature. She bears three ravens on her left collarbone representing her family, a Dauntless seal on her left shoulder, and an Abnegation seal on her right. At 16, her aptitude test revealed she is Divergent, capable of fitting into Erudite, Abnegation, and Dauntless, though she was warned to keep this secret.

During the Choosing Ceremony, she transferred to Dauntless and adopted the name Tris. She befriended initiates Christina, Al (from Candor), and Will (an Erudite transfer). In her first initiation, her physical performance against top candidates like Peter nearly got her cut, but she helped her team win a capture the flag event. During the second initiation, her mother Natalie revealed she was originally Dauntless and warned Tris about being watched.

Tris then asked her brother Caleb to research Erudite's simulation serum. During the second initiation, Tris displayed an uncanny ability to clear fear simulations—featuring crows, drowning, burning, intimacy, and killing family—in record time, drawing Four's attention. After passing initiation, she learned of Erudite's plan to attack Abnegation. When a mind-controlling serum failed on her, leader Jeanine Matthews ordered Tris executed; Natalie saved her, but Tris was forced to shoot Will during their escape, and Natalie was killed.

Reuniting with her father Andrew, brother Caleb, and Marcus, they sneaked into the Dauntless base where Andrew died in battle. Tris helped break Four free from mind control and stopped Jeanine to release the Dauntless. In Insurgent, hiding in Amity with Tobias, Marcus, Caleb, and Peter, she learned Abnegation leaders died protecting a secret. After escaping to the factionless camp via train, she revealed to Candor that she had killed Will before surrendering to Erudite to save her friends.

There, she discovered Caleb was working for Jeanine but escaped with Tobias and Peter. She joined Marcus to transfer stolen information to every faction, causing conflict with Tobias until they reconciled. In Allegiant, Tris freed Caleb from execution despite not forgiving his betrayal.

Quick Facts

Chosen alias: Tris
Origin faction: Abnegation
Chosen faction: Dauntless
Sibling: Caleb Prior
Key trait: Divergent

Lore & Background

Beatrice grew up in Abnegation, a faction dedicated to humility and selflessness. Her mother, Natalie, was a former Dauntless member who left that faction to marry Andrew and join Abnegation, creating a quiet undercurrent of tension within their household. While her brother Caleb embraced their upbringing, Beatrice felt stifled by the suppression of emotion and identity inherent to her birth faction. This internal conflict drove her decision to cut her palm with a knife during the Choosing Ceremony, selecting Dauntless as her new home.

During initiation, she demonstrated exceptional bravery but struggled with trust issues stemming from the secrets her family kept. As she progressed through training, it became clear that her mind could not be categorized by standard faction testing. This Divergence allowed her to withstand the fear landscape simulations designed to break initiates, marking her as a threat to the system. Following her death, Tobias spread her ashes from the roof of the Hancock building, honoring her memory in a place that symbolized both her courage and their shared journey.

Reader's Guide

Before Beatrice's birth, Chicago was rebuilt by founders who created factions to end a global war. They believed human nature caused conflict, so categorizing people into five groups would ensure peace through specialization. Abnegation governed while Dauntless protected the city walls from perceived threats outside. For generations, this system held society together through strict adherence and genetic testing designed to maintain order within each group.

However, later revelations exposed that the city was actually a simulation within a dome surrounded by a wasteland. The founders were not merely organizing people but controlling them to prevent humanity's self-destruction through behavioral conditioning. Beatrice discovers her Divergence allows her to resist this control, challenging the Bureau of Genetic Research directly. Her journey reveals that the faction system was a cage designed by those who feared human potential more than chaos itself.

Ultimately, she fights to dismantle the hierarchy that claimed to save them, seeking true freedom beyond predefined labels and genetic destiny imposed by an external authority.