Contents
Chapter 6: Beatrice
Overview
At the Choosing Ceremony, attackers shatter the skylights and denounce the faction system, triggering panic and casualties. Beatrice escapes with help from a Dauntless boy, then spots Evelyn Eaton, believed dead, alive and armed. She reunites with Caleb and learns Robert has been killed, escalating personal and political stakes.
Summary
Beatrice arrives at the Hall of Factions with her family and other Abnegation, uneasy yet drawn to the possibility of Dauntless. Marcus Eaton opens the Choosing Ceremony, outlining the founders’ philosophies as faction leaders, including Jeanine Matthews, watch. The hall fills with tension, especially between Erudite and Abnegation.
As Marcus prepares to read names, all skylights shatter. Figures appear above, chanting “Death to factions,” and faction banners are torn down and replaced with a new symbol of white flowers on green. Panic surges; Dauntless sentries fire nonlethal needles. A young attacker in green falls and likely dies, intensifying the stampede.
Beatrice is knocked down and nearly trampled until a Dauntless boy with dark blue eyes directs her to a side exit. She escapes into a courtyard and rounds the building, where she confronts an armed Amity woman who moves with lethal precision. Moonlight reveals the woman as Evelyn Eaton—Marcus’s wife, presumed dead.
Evelyn ignores Beatrice and disappears into the street. Beatrice races to the main entrance, where Abnegation are helping evacuate others. Caleb finds her; shaken and bleeding, he confirms their parents are safe but tells Beatrice that Robert has been killed, turning the attack’s political shock into a personal loss.
Who Appears
- Beatrice PriorAbnegation initiate; endures the attacked Ceremony, escapes via side exit, sees Evelyn Eaton alive, and learns of Robert’s death.
- Caleb PriorBeatrice’s brother; injured by glass, reunites with Beatrice, confirms parents’ safety, and reveals Robert’s death.
- Marcus EatonAbnegation leader; opens the Choosing Ceremony before the attack interrupts.
- Evelyn EatonMarcus’s wife presumed dead; revealed alive, armed, and fleeing the scene in Amity colors.
- Dauntless boy (unnamed)Helps Beatrice escape through an emergency door amid the chaos.
- Jeanine MatthewsErudite leader; present at the Ceremony, emblem of Erudite–Abnegation hostility.
- UriahDauntless friend; seen before the Ceremony begins.
- Johanna ReyesAmity representative; stands by the earth bowl during Marcus’s introduction.
- Jack KangCandor representative; present beside Marcus during the Ceremony.
- RobertAbnegation acquaintance; reported dead after the attack, heightening the chapter’s stakes.