one of hawke's most critique-able traits in my opinion is that they're just kinda selfish, tbh, and even if it's because they've been raised to live in a constant survival mode, that still kinda sucks about them. their priorities are always going to be looking out for themself and the people they love first, and to protect whatever life they've managed to build second. everything else comes after that.
and this is what primarily drives and motivates them during the years they spend climbing the social ladder in kirkwall.
act 1; — hawke takes whatever jobs they can to get the coin they need to partner with varric & bartrand on the deep roads expedition and ultimately get their mom and sibling the fuck out of lowtown. they can and do sympathize/care about the people involved in those jobs, but it's not what inspires them to get involved at that point. they know they need a certain degree of wealth to petition for the amell estate to return to their family's hands, and they're going to make sure that happens because it's the best way to take care of the family and protect themself a little bit from templar scrutiny.
act 2; — hawke is doing their best to keep their head above water as very new money in a very old money world. many of kirkwall's nobles are not so accepting of them, and make it clear they still see them as a lowtowner and refugee. hawke is quite reticent in their reaction to this chilly welcome in hightown, and focuses mainly on solidifying their place there and continuing to build a life in kirkwall. this is the most important thing to them at that time. losing leandra does somewhat test their resolve on The Mage Trouble, but they manage to maintain the opinion that circles are more cruel and unusual than they are helpful. overall, they are coasting at this point, right up until the arishok turns on the city and hawke is forced to get in his way. but in the end, they only duel him to protect isabela. so their saving of kirkwall comes off as far more heroic than it really is because of that.
act 3; — hawke is stuck in the middle between meredith and orsino, just constantly playing peacekeeper because they don't want to see the life they've built implode. it's basically all they can do to maintain balance as they can see the pressure building to an inevitable breaking point. they are lowkey terrified of what's simmering under the surface in the city where they've put down roots, and they just try to focus on helping their friends with whatever they need—but they keep getting pulled back into that central conflict. there is a reckoning coming and they can feel it, but they're trying to pretend everything is fine so they can enjoy the comforts they feel they've earned. it does not even occur to them that they should take a stronger stance on mages vs. templars in the city, unless anders confronts them with the idea. they're just trying to live their life and they don't want to be the reason the cork pops in kirkwall. anders blowing up the chantry forces their hand, in the end. they have to make a choice at that point and live with the consequences.
post-kirkwall; — hawke is going to follow whichever companion they were closest to, so most likely whoever they romanced (ex: i've talked with katie about hawke going with fenris to help in his work against slavers, specifically because it's important to fenris and they want to stay close to him and watch his back; they do care about the people they're helping, but it's secondary to their goal of staying close to and protecting someone they love). their main goal remains keeping close to those who matter to them the most and generally taking care of them.
all of which isn't to say they can't be selfless contextually or under certain circumstances! hawke is definitely a “for you, i would...” type of person to have in your corner. for the people they love, they'll do anything, even things that come at their own expense. that's just part of protecting what's theirs to them. but they can also see someone in trouble and feel empathy for them, and if they see a solution they can offer they will give it to them (ex: when they tell orana to find their estate and give her a job working for them, it's a simple way they know that they can help her in that moment, so they just go ahead and do it). it's just that, at the end of the day, hawke is going to look after what's theirs before they do anything else.
