Self-sacrifice can consist purely of surrendering one’s reputation rather than one’s life.

Evidence

As Inspersal argues, the emphasis on deception in The Dark Knight is one of the themes that connects it with Nolan’s previous films, and Batman’s climactic act of self-sacrifice is precisely an act of deception. It takes place at the level of signs: what he must give up is his reputation, his good standing in the eyes of the Gotham public. The act of deception doesn’t conceal an underlying good act — it is the concealing that is the good act itself. — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 571

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes earlier chapters on sacrifice (ch26) and on reputation/sign-level meaning; also ch10 glamour/pornography sign-play.
• QUESTION: Is the pure-sign self-sacrifice distinct from real sacrifice or a modern substitution worth a follow-up piece?