--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Philip Roth has made a cottage industry…" description: "\"Philip Roth has made a cottage industry of unlikable characters, but compared with Mickey Sabbath, the furious and profane protagonist of 'Sabbath's Th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/ben-dolnick-16441_cottage_philip-roth-has-made-a-cottage-industry_1475616.jpg" --- # Philip Roth has made a cottage industry of unlikable… ![“Philip Roth has made a cottage industry of unlikable characters, but compared with Mickey Sabbath, the furious and profane protagonist of 'Sabbath's Theater,' Roth's earlier creations seem like Winnie the Pooh.” quote by Ben Dolnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/ben-dolnick-16441_cottage_philip-roth-has-made-a-cottage-industry_1475616.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/ben-dolnick-16441_cottage_philip-roth-has-made-a-cottage-industry_1475616.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/ben-dolnick-16441_cottage_philip-roth-has-made-a-cottage-industry_1475616.jpg) > “Philip Roth has made a cottage industry of unlikable characters, but compared with Mickey Sabbath, the furious and profane protagonist of 'Sabbath's Theater,' Roth's earlier creations seem like Winnie the Pooh.” [Ben Dolnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-dolnick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Roth's early works seem gentle compared to the harsh, profane protagonist of Sabbath's Theater. **In simple terms:** Roth's early characters are milder than Sabbath's. Key Takeaway Recognize tonal shifts in literature. Themes literary contrast character development tone Mood analytical critical Type literary observational When to use this quote - book club discussions - creative writing analysis Key Concepts comparative literature authorial evolution Questions to Reflect On - Why do authors create increasingly dark protagonists? - How does tone affect reader empathy? A Different Perspective Roth's later works may alienate some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Protagonist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protagonist/) [Sabbath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sabbath/) ## Related quotes > [If you were placing bets on which author would write the tenderest, most moving book about fatherhood, Philip Roth would probably come in at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-dolnick/if-you-were-placing-bets-on-which-author-would-write-the-tenderest/) [Ben Dolnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-dolnick/) > [I think one of my big skills is making unlikable characters likable or real in some way. 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But that book, Portnoy's Complaint, is literary punk in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan-mahajan/i-m-more-interested-than-philip-roth-in-understanding-women-even-if-i/) [Karan Mahajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan-mahajan/) ## More by Ben Dolnick > [Herta Muller, Mo Yan, Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio - for many of us, the Nobels have become doubly educational: We simultaneously learn of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-dolnick/herta-muller-mo-yan-jean-marie-gustave-le-clezio-for-many-of-us-the/) [Ben Dolnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-dolnick/) > [Writing is a sufficiently lonely and mysterious pastime that I don't begrudge myself a talisman or two, so long as they don't become ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-dolnick/writing-is-a-sufficiently-lonely-and-mysterious-pastime-that-i-don-t/) [Ben Dolnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-dolnick/) > [Of course I knew that writing was terrifically hard work and that there was no secret code, as in a video game, that would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-dolnick/of-course-i-knew-that-writing-was-terrifically-hard-work-and-that/) [Ben Dolnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-dolnick/) > [Literature is one of those realms in which giving out prizes can seem not merely dubious but positively obtuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-dolnick/literature-is-one-of-those-realms-in-which-giving-out-prizes-can-seem/) [Ben Dolnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-dolnick/) > [During the couple of years it took to write 'At The Bottom of Everything', I decided, on the sort of hopeful whim that occasionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-dolnick/during-the-couple-of-years-it-took-to-write-at-the-bottom-of/) [Ben Dolnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-dolnick/) > [A short-story collection is harder to formulate pithy sentences about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-dolnick/a-short-story-collection-is-harder-to-formulate-pithy-sentences-about/) [Ben Dolnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-dolnick/) > [We humans, just like the animals in our zoos, were born into bodies whose workings are both mechanistically predictable and unfathomably complex. 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Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [You're buying for the benefit of the cottage experience at a fraction of the price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-bird/you-re-buying-for-the-benefit-of-the-cottage-experience-at-a-fraction/) [Brad Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-bird/) > [Khaddar does not displace a single cottage industry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/khaddar-does-not-displace-a-single-cottage-industry/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I have always been attracted to the cottage industry side of this business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bailey/i-have-always-been-attracted-to-the-cottage-industry-side-of-this/) [Derek Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bailey/) > [“cousin, or something.’ Vivien raised an eyebrow as she passed back Henderson’s glass. ‘Even people who’ve lived here their whole lives can’t get back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-muchamore/cousin-or-something-vivien-raised-an-eyebrow-as-she-passed-back/) [Robert Muchamore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-muchamore/) > [John is a cottage industry in Baltimore and the city opens its doors for him whenever he is making a new film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mink-stole/john-is-a-cottage-industry-in-baltimore-and-the-city-opens-its-doors/) [Mink Stole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mink-stole/) > [“If I was an eccentric old spinster in a Merchant Ivory movie, I'd want to share my lovely cottage with Holly and that's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-samson/if-i-was-an-eccentric-old-spinster-in-a-merchant-ivory-movie-i-d-want/) [Lisa Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-samson/) > [“That night, I fell into a deep, travel-weary sleep, lulled by the familiar sound of the waterfall beyond the window. I dreamed of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazel-gaynor/that-night-i-fell-into-a-deep-travel-weary-sleep-lulled-by-the/) [Hazel Gaynor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazel-gaynor/) > [I still see myself as a bit of a cottage industry. Being in a room creating stuff and seeing if anyone wants it, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/i-still-see-myself-as-a-bit-of-a-cottage-industry-being-in-a-room/) [Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/) > [The snow has left the cottage top; The thatch moss grows in brighter green; And eaves in quick succession drop, Where grinning icicles have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-clare/the-snow-has-left-the-cottage-top-the-thatch-moss-grows-in-brighter/) [John Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-clare/) > [The cottage garden; most for use designed, Yet not of beauty destitute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-smith/the-cottage-garden-most-for-use-designed-yet-not-of-beauty-destitute/) [Charlotte Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-smith/) > [A cottage will hold as much happiness as would stock a palace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamilton-wright-mabie/a-cottage-will-hold-as-much-happiness-as-would-stock-a-palace/) [Hamilton Wright Mabie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamilton-wright-mabie/) > [Let them show me a cottage where there are not the same vices of which they accuse the courts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-them-show-me-a-cottage-where-there-are-not-the-same-vices-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 133 Cottage quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Philip Roth has made a cottage industry of unlikable characters, but compared with Mickey Sabbath, the furious and profane protagonist of 'Sabbath's Theater,' Roth's earlier creations seem like Winnie the Pooh.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ben Dolnick" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-dolnick/philip-roth-has-made-a-cottage-industry-of-unlikable-characters-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cottage" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-dolnick/philip-roth-has-made-a-cottage-industry-of-unlikable-characters-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/ben-dolnick-16441_cottage_philip-roth-has-made-a-cottage-industry_1475616.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/ben-dolnick-16441_cottage_philip-roth-has-made-a-cottage-industry_1475616.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/ben-dolnick-16441_cottage_philip-roth-has-made-a-cottage-industry_1475616.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Philip Roth has made a cottage industry of unlikable characters, but compared with Mickey Sabbath, the…” — Ben Dolnick", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ben Dolnick", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-dolnick/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Philip Roth has made a cottage...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-dolnick/philip-roth-has-made-a-cottage-industry-of-unlikable-characters-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-dolnick/philip-roth-has-made-a-cottage-industry-of-unlikable-characters-but/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```