In The Matrix, the character Trinity, played by Cary-Anne Moss, has one of the more important roles in the film trilogy.  Trinity’s role in the film is that of the woman warrior fighting her part in the war between man and machines.  She is the second ranking officer on her ship, The Nebuchadnezzar, captained by Morpheus, and is the first one who approaches Neo, also known as “The One”, regarding freeing him from the program construct, known as The Matrix, and exposing him to the real world.  Though Trinity performs all of these acts, her character and her purpose in the film is far more complex and significant than the average moviegoer would initially realize.  Her fantastic fighting ability as well as her authoritarian attitude set her apart as a significantly powerful female figure.  Additionally, her role in Neo’s, also known as “The One”, development into the savior of mankind makes her that much more significant.

Trinity is one of the most complex characters in The Matrix

In The Matrix, Trinity is the first person to approach Neo about The Matrix by hacking his computer and talking to him.  She complements Neo’s computer hacking ability and is actually even better than he is in hacking ability thus establishing an early element of female superiority over her male counterpart.  When she and Neo finally meet for the first time, Trinity reveals herself to him by giving Neo her name and is met with Neo responding “I thought you were a guy.”  “Most guys do” Trinity replies to him, thus further establishing her as a powerful figure that is in some ways dominant over men.  In reality, her role is almost “the man’s” role in the film while when looking at Neo, his role is more of “the woman’s” role.  Neo is afraid of what he might find out about The Matrix as is shown when Morpheus contacts him at work and tells him how to escape from the pursuing Agents and he fails to do what is necessary to escape.  He is thus captured by The Agents and is installed with a tracking device so they will know where he is when he finally meets Morpheus and his crew in The Matrix.  When Neo is finally found by Trinity and the crew, Trinity is the one who removes the tracking device from Neo’s body.  Throughout the process Trinity shows unparalleled confidence while “debugging” Neo and when her crewmate, Switch, says “you’re going to lose it”, Trinity responds “everything’s fine, I’m not going to lose it”.  She shocks Neo a few times to retrieve the device and successfully removes it from his body while also generating scared complaint from Neo as well as shock and awe.  Trinity is initially the one who saves Neo, and it is not her last time doing so.

Later in the film, Trinity continues to exhibit her female domineering traits.  However, the onetime where she shows some form of feminine vulnerability is when Neo questions her about her meeting with The Oracle.  She does not answer him when he asks “what did she tell you?”  However, this vulnerability is soon shed.  After Neo’s meeting with The Oracle, the crew ventures to find their exit out of The Matrix and back into the real world.  They are betrayed by one of their crewmates, Cypher, and are found by Agent Smith, the chief antagonist in the movie and later Neo’s main opposition to fulfilling his role as “The One”.  Morpheus sacrifices himself to get Neo out and puts his fate into the hands of Trinity.  Though Neo wants to help save Morpheus, Trinity explains to him “we have to get out” and forces him to find the exit with her.  This is further evidence of her dominating authoritarian attitude as well as her power over Neo.  When they go back into The Matrix to attempt to save Morpheus, Neo wants to do this mission alone and Trinity firmly scolds him for thinking that he could perform this mission on his own.  She tells him “I believe if you are really serious about rescuing him, you are going to need my help. And since I am the ranking officer on this ship, if you don’t like it… I believe you can go to hell.”  She does not believe that Neo is ready to do anything on his own and further guides him along his path through no choice of Neo’s.  She is almost like his babysitter to keep him out of trouble and out of harm’s way.

Trinity inspires a lot of female empowerment centered artwork

At the end of the film, Trinity’s role becomes more confusing.  Her character is actually significantly butchered at the end of the film.  Neo dies, however it is not the end for him.  Upon Neo’s death, as well as the remainder of the crew’s impending deaths, Trinity reveals the truth to Neo; she reveals what The Oracle prophesized for her.  The Oracle told her that “she would fall in love with a dead man, that man would be ‘The One’”.  Upon her admitting this to Neo’s dead body, she tells him that he “can’t be dead, because I love you”, and kisses him.  She breathes life back into Neo and completes his transformation into “The One”; she ends his journey by saving his life once again and making him realize, through no epiphany of his own that he is “The One” and he is the path to mankind’s salvation.  When looking at it, it is really Trinity’s epiphany that awakes Neo, her admittance that she is in love and is Neo’s woman.  Neo makes no realization of his own that he is “The One” because throughout the movie he is filled with doubt and dismay in response to The Oracle telling him “you’re not ‘The One’”.  At this point in the movie though, Trinity is shown to be vulnerable and womanly in a way that strips her of her ultimate confidence, the quality that makes her as powerful as she has been portrayed throughout the film.

Trinity’s character is complex.  Her characterization as the more macho character is evident throughout the film.  She is the warrior woman; Trinity is always dressed in black tactical gear, she is a superb marksman, a brilliant and deadly fighter, as well as a skilled tactician.  She is the path towards Neo’s eventual role as “The One” and pushes him through his training while also taking care of him, as we see from her always bringing him food to his room upon his release from The Matrix.  She exhibits no perpetual weak characteristics and is always willing and ready to do what she needs to in order to end the war with the machines.  She is one of the quintessential illustrations of the powerful woman warrior; almost Amazonian in nature, her beauty effectively hiding her deadly fighting abilities.