--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thackeray is careful not to present a…" description: "\"“Thackeray is careful not to present a protagonist who is malevolently evil from birth; to trace a figure like this is unrewarding certainly to novelis..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f05/martin-j-anisman-92383_protagonist_thackeray-is-careful-not-to-present-a-pr_485474.jpg" --- # Thackeray is careful not to present a protagonist who is… ![“Thackeray is careful not to present a protagonist who is malevolently evil from birth; to trace a figure like this is unrewarding certainly to novelist and reader alike.” quote by Martin J. Anisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f05/martin-j-anisman-92383_protagonist_thackeray-is-careful-not-to-present-a-pr_485474.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f05/martin-j-anisman-92383_protagonist_thackeray-is-careful-not-to-present-a-pr_485474.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f05/martin-j-anisman-92383_protagonist_thackeray-is-careful-not-to-present-a-pr_485474.jpg) > ““Thackeray is careful not to present a protagonist who is malevolently evil from birth; to trace a figure like this is unrewarding certainly to novelist and reader alike.”” [Martin J. Anisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-j-anisman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author prefers not to create a wholly evil protagonist from birth because such a character feels unrewarding to both writer and reader. **In simple terms:** Avoid making characters purely evil from the start. Key Takeaway Create nuanced characters with mixed motives. Themes writing character development literary criticism Mood reflective analytical Type character development:1 writer:1 thackeray:1 protagonist malevolently:0 thackeray careful:0 malevolently evil:0 When to use this quote - novel writing - reading analysis - author workshops Key Concepts Moral complexity protagonist construction Questions to Reflect On - How can an author make a morally ambiguous protagonist engaging? - What benefits arise from portraying flawed heroes? A Different Perspective A completely evil character can still be compelling if portrayed with depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Malevolently Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/malevolently-evil-4166179/) [Protagonist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protagonist/) [Protagonist Malevolently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protagonist-malevolently-4166177/) [Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thackeray-270083/) [Thackeray Careful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thackeray-careful-4166178/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I don't think like Raj Thackeray... that anyone from Uttar Pradesh or Bihar or anywhere who comes to Mumbai is an outsider.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakhi-sawant/i-don-t-think-like-raj-thackeray-that-anyone-from-uttar-pradesh-or/) [Rakhi Sawant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakhi-sawant/) > [“May. Thackeray’s Catherine in Fraser’s (seven instalments ending in Feb. 1840).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-william-polidori/may-thackeray-s-catherine-in-fraser-s-seven-instalments-ending-in-feb/) [John William Polidori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-william-polidori/) > [Cartoons, if you ask me, are the most powerful weapon in today's politics. Balasaheb Thackeray has proved this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-thackeray/cartoons-if-you-ask-me-are-the-most-powerful-weapon-in-today-s/) [Raj Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-thackeray/) > [“Thackeray aggressively put forward his theory of Thokshahi and called it ‘constructive violence’,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaibhav-purandare/thackeray-aggressively-put-forward-his-theory-of-thokshahi-and-called/) [Vaibhav Purandare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaibhav-purandare/) > [It was not a state secret that I would call on Thackeray. I was not hiding anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharad-pawar/it-was-not-a-state-secret-that-i-would-call-on-thackeray-i-was-not/) [Sharad Pawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharad-pawar/) > [Who knows but we may count among our intellectual chickens Like them an Earl of Thackeray and p'raps a Duke of Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/who-knows-but-we-may-count-among-our-intellectual-chickens-like-them/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [Balasaheb Thackeray's teachings have been that defeat is better than false promises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uddhav-thackeray/balasaheb-thackeray-s-teachings-have-been-that-defeat-is-better-than/) [Uddhav Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uddhav-thackeray/) > [Thackeray and Balzac will make it possible for our descendants to live over again the England and France of to-day. Seen in this light,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gilbert-hamerton/thackeray-and-balzac-will-make-it-possible-for-our-descendants-to/) [Philip Gilbert Hamerton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gilbert-hamerton/) > [I would say that if a man like Balasaheb Thackeray can exist, 'Sarkar' can exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-gopal-varma/i-would-say-that-if-a-man-like-balasaheb-thackeray-can-exist-sarkar/) [Ram Gopal Varma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-gopal-varma/) > [“This is Thackeray’s first full-length novel, which appeared in serialised instalments in Fraser’s Magazine between May 1839 and February 1840. Thackeray’s original intention was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/this-is-thackeray-s-first-full-length-novel-which-appeared-in/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [“With this purpose, the author chose for the subject of his story a woman named Catherine Hayes, who was burned at Tyburn, in 1726,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/with-this-purpose-the-author-chose-for-the-subject-of-his-story-a/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Thackeray is an institution that cannot become irrelevant because of one election.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharad-pawar/thackeray-is-an-institution-that-cannot-become-irrelevant-because-of/) [Sharad Pawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharad-pawar/) > [In 'Yours Truly,' I was the centre of the story; I was the protagonist. There was a lot more happening inside the mind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soni-razdan/in-yours-truly-i-was-the-centre-of-the-story-i-was-the-protagonist/) [Soni Razdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soni-razdan/) > [We tend to think of orphans as being the protagonist of stories we read when we're kids, and yet here you are: you're an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/we-tend-to-think-of-orphans-as-being-the-protagonist-of-stories-we/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [Because there is actually something very interesting in Goodfellas, how the style of the film changes as time goes by and based on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-cox/because-there-is-actually-something-very-interesting-in-goodfellas/) [Alex Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-cox/) ## More by Martin J. Anisman > [“Blifil's failure as a character in "Tom Jones" is ultimately due to the fact that he has absolutely no redeeming characteristics and once his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-j-anisman/blifil-s-failure-as-a-character-in-tom-jones-is-ultimately-due-to-the/) [Martin J. Anisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-j-anisman/) [Explore all 2 Martin J. Anisman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-j-anisman/) ## More Protagonist quotes > [Because there is actually something very interesting in Goodfellas, how the style of the film changes as time goes by and based on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-cox/because-there-is-actually-something-very-interesting-in-goodfellas/) [Alex Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-cox/) > [We tend to think of orphans as being the protagonist of stories we read when we're kids, and yet here you are: you're an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/we-tend-to-think-of-orphans-as-being-the-protagonist-of-stories-we/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [In 'Yours Truly,' I was the centre of the story; I was the protagonist. There was a lot more happening inside the mind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soni-razdan/in-yours-truly-i-was-the-centre-of-the-story-i-was-the-protagonist/) [Soni Razdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soni-razdan/) > [When the machine of a human being is turned on, it seems to produce a protagonist, just as a television produces an image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/when-the-machine-of-a-human-being-is-turned-on-it-seems-to-produce-a/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I write what I like to read, and I enjoy love triangles in YA and adult fiction - not to mention in other media…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/i-write-what-i-like-to-read-and-i-enjoy-love-triangles-in-ya-and/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [You can, I think, have a quiet and steady protagonist and not run the risk of terminal dullness as long as exciting things happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-williams/you-can-i-think-have-a-quiet-and-steady-protagonist-and-not-run-the/) [Liz Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-williams/) > [Mindi Scott has a real talent for getting inside her protagonist's head. She sketches out Coley's story in grand swathes, and then paints in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-benson/mindi-scott-has-a-real-talent-for-getting-inside-her-protagonist-s/) [Amber Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-benson/) > [I always find something in common with my protagonist, particularly when I write in the first person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-always-find-something-in-common-with-my-protagonist-particularly/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [I think for some reason we're conditioned in movies that the protagonist must be heroic or redeemable in some way, whereas in theater, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-isaac/i-think-for-some-reason-we-re-conditioned-in-movies-that-the/) [Oscar Isaac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-isaac/) > [“Think of a caterpillar entering a cocoon. Once he does so, one of two things will happen: He will either transform into a butterfly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-james/think-of-a-caterpillar-entering-a-cocoon-once-he-does-so-one-of-two/) [Steven James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-james/) > [You look like a protagonist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/you-look-like-a-protagonist/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [“You're both the fire and the water that extinguishes it. You're the narrator, the protagonist, and the sidekick. You're the storyteller and the story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/you-re-both-the-fire-and-the-water-that-extinguishes-it-you-re-the/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Crime is a very hard genre to feminise. If you have a female protagonist she is going to be looking after her mum when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-mina/crime-is-a-very-hard-genre-to-feminise-if-you-have-a-female/) [Denise Mina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-mina/) > [I'm a filmmaker, and I was most influenced by Hitchcock's films. How he could plant such deep enriched characters and then make us care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-haggis/i-m-a-filmmaker-and-i-was-most-influenced-by-hitchcock-s-films-how-he/) [Paul Haggis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-haggis/) > [It may sound very strange, but I love the freedom that writing a novel gives me. It is an unhindered experience. If I come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/it-may-sound-very-strange-but-i-love-the-freedom-that-writing-a-novel/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) [Browse all 207 Protagonist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protagonist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Thackeray is careful not to present a protagonist who is malevolently evil from birth; to trace a figure like this is unrewarding certainly to novelist and reader alike.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin J. 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