Nat’s wife is never named, and is highly dependent upon her husband throughout the story. She relies on Nat to clear their children’s bedroom of dead birds, secure their home, and repeatedly tell her what to do next. Her actions often emphasize the mundanity and futility of human-imposed order the face of catastrophe; as it had not yet been her designated shopping day before the attacks, the family is ill-equipped to survive the siege. A generally ineffectual character, she repeatedly expresses faith that someone else will come save the family.
Mrs. Hocken / Nat’s Wife Quotes in The Birds
The The Birds quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Hocken / Nat’s Wife or refer to Mrs. Hocken / Nat’s Wife. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The Birds
Quotes
Nat thought to himself that “they” were no doubt considering the problem at that very moment, but whatever “they” decided to do in London and the big cities would not help the people here, three hundred miles away. Each householder must look after his own.
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That was the line. Keep her busy, and the children too. Move about, eat, drink; always best to be on the go.
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Mrs. Hocken / Nat’s Wife Quotes in The Birds
The The Birds quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Hocken / Nat’s Wife or refer to Mrs. Hocken / Nat’s Wife. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The Birds
Quotes
Nat thought to himself that “they” were no doubt considering the problem at that very moment, but whatever “they” decided to do in London and the big cities would not help the people here, three hundred miles away. Each householder must look after his own.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
That was the line. Keep her busy, and the children too. Move about, eat, drink; always best to be on the go.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
