We have sacrifice in two senses of the word going on in Hush, Hush: human sacrifice to obtain some goal or purpose, and sacrifice in the sense of giving up something valuable for someone else. As far as the first type of sacrifice goes, Patch reads in The Book of Enoch that he needs to sacrifice his Nephil vassal's female descendant in order to get the human body he's wanted for ages. Since Nora fits the bill as a female descendent of Patch's vassal, he makes plans to sacrifice her.
As far as that second type of sacrifice goes, giving something up for another is presented as an act of love in the book. It's also the mark of a person who is selfless and at least somewhat mature as opposed to someone who is self-involved and sophomoric (there's a word for your rolodex of impressive vocab). Nora and Patch both make dramatic gestures of their willingness to sacrifice for one another, but there are also a few examples that come in subtler form, for instance, Nora's rescue of Vee and the choices Nora's mom makes for her daughter.
Questions About Sacrifice
- How does the movie The Sacrifice set us up for this theme? Trace the references to the movie throughout the book to develop your answer.
- How does Nora learn about sacrifice from her mom?
- Why is Nora willing to sacrifice her life for Patch? Why is Patch willing to sacrifice his desire to become human for Nora? What similarieis and differences do you notice between their two sacrifices?
Chew on This
Nora and Patch's sacrifices are the ultimate demonstration of love.
Nora and Patch's sacrifices give off the troubling message that you lose yourself in relationships.