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Nat Hocken
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:
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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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The morning after his first fight with the birds, Nat and Mrs. Hocken discuss the plausibility of military intervention, with Nat rejecting his wife’s idea that the Army could shoot the birds out of the sky. Though Nat does not completely dismiss the hope of outside help, he does quickly understand that in warlike situations, people must fend for themselves. His survivalist nature has already begun to manifest, as has his frustration with the authorities. The frailty of human order—signified by vague authorities in faraway London—is already on display, as Nat understands the limits of authority and the importance of Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non au
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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These lines appear towards the end of “The Birds”, after it has become clear that the Hockens are utterly alone; their neighbors have been killed, the radio plays only static, and the nearby phone line is dead. Nat has retrieved enough supplies from the Triggs’ house to last the family another night or so. There is little else Nat can do; yet even in the face of near-certain death, he spurs his wife and children to action for no rational reason. Here, Nat is echoing the exact observation he makes in the beginning of the story, when first witnessing the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit
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Mrs. Hocken / Nat’s Wife Character Timeline in The Birds
The timeline below shows where the character Mrs. Hocken / Nat’s Wife appears in The Birds. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Birds
...is sleeping, but his face is bloodied from the birds. Though Nat tries to reassure his wife that the sudden cold snap and east wind are to blame for the birds’ behavior,...
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Nat returns home and, at the urging of his wife , clears the children’s bedroom of dead birds. The ground is frozen solid, so he...
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Nat’s wife insists that the army should do something about the birds, though Nat believes they would...
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Nat’s wife dresses his wounds and wonders why the army is not involved. Nat says it is...
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...The Hockens then hear the drone of planes and gunfire heading toward the sea. Though Nat’s wife and children are heartened at the thought of military aid, Nat understands subsequent crashing noises...
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...of his cottage, and are in great danger. As Jill starts to cry, he instructs his wife to make tea and cocoa, thinking, “Keep her busy, and the children too. Move about,...
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...countryside between tides. The family anxiously awaits a promised 7:00 a.m. news bulletin, but when Nat’s wife turns on the radio nothing comes through but static. Nat wonders how much longer the...
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...even on foreign stations. This leads Nat to suggest the attacks are happening across Europe. Nat’s wife then pours “out a plateful of the Triggs’ soup, cut him a large slice of...
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...to hammer at the cottage door. The door begins to splinter and tear. Nat tells his wife he will smoke his final cigarette. He tosses the empty packet onto the fire.
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