Sabbath’s Theater by Philip Roth, published in 1995, is a work of literary fiction that follows the titular character Mickey Sabbath, an aging yet lustful man, as he navigates life after the passing of his long-time mistress, Drenka. As Sabbath runs from his loss and his unhappy marriage, he finds himself in New York City, confronting the pain of his first wife’s disappearance and the death of his older brother, Morty, during World War II. Like many of Roth’s novels, Sabbath’s Theater explores such themes as the stress of aging and sexual desire as a guiding force. Some of Roth’s other acclaimed works include Portnoy’s Complaint (1969), American Pastoral (1997), and The Plot Against America (2004). Sabbath’s Theater won the 1995 National Book Award and was a finalist for the 1996 Pulitzer Prize.

This study guide references the paperback First Vintage International Edition, first published in August 1996.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide contain many references to alcohol addiction, death by suicide and suicidal ideation, sexual assault as well as sexual situations in which consent is not clear, racism, misogyny, and transphobia perpetuated by the protagonist, and outdated and derogatory language for sex workers.

Plot Summary

Mickey Sabbath is an aging and arthritic puppeteer whose career has ended because of a sexual scandal with a student. He is married to Roseanna, who despises him, and is in a long-term extramarital relationship with Drenka Balich. Drenka wants their relationship to be monogamous, but Sabbath pushes back, protective of his freedom. Drenka finally breaks down, revealing that she wants them to be monogamous because she has cancer. She dies six months later.

After Drenka’s death, Sabbath invites her husband, Matija, to coffee. Matija tells him of how hard life is without Drenka, and of the strained relationship he has with their son, Matthew, a local police officer who will not take over the inn Drenka helped Matija manage. Later, Sabbath visits Drenka’s grave, where he masturbates on her gravestone, thinking of the woman they often enjoyed threesomes with. When he finishes, he hides in the woods and watches as another of Drenka’s lovers leaves flowers at the grave and masturbates. He throws a rock at the man to chase him off.

At home, Sabbath receives a call from Norman, his old producer, telling him that his theater partner and friend, Linc, has died by suicide. Norman invites Sabbath to the funeral in New York City, but Sabbath hangs up when Norman mentions Sabbath’s first wife, Nikki, who disappeared. Later that night, Sabbath and Roseanna argue, with Sabbath suggesting that she plans to leave him. When Roseanna does not respond, Sabbath decides to leave her for good. He decides to go to Linc’s funeral and drives to Drenka’s grave one last time, only to see another of her lovers masturbating. This lover, however, is caught by Matthew.

As Sabbath drives to New York, he tells his mother’s ghost about Nikki. When Sabbath’s older brother, Morty, died in World War II, his mother crumbled, and Sabbath had to mourn two important people in his life. Nikki was fragile, and when her mother died, she refused to accept it. Nikki disappeared one night, and for years afterward, Sabbath searched for her, refusing to believe she was dead. Finally, after years of searching, he left New York for Massachusetts.

Norman lets Sabbath stay with him and his wife, Michelle, and they talk about aging and depression. Sabbath explains his situation, including his grief over Morty’s death, and cries. Sabbath cannot tell if his breakdown is real or if he is just performing. That night, Sabbath takes a bath, bringing a picture of Norman’s daughter with him into the bathroom. When Norman checks on him, he sees the picture and takes it back into the bedroom. After Norman leaves, Sabbath retrieves both items and continues with his bath. He sleeps through the night for the first time in years.

The next morning, Sabbath wakes to a note saying that both Norman and Michelle are at work and that the cleaning lady, Rosa, will stop by soon. Sabbath begins searching through Norman’s daughter’s room for naked photos and is interrupted by a panicked Rosa, who believes he is robbing them. Scared, she brings him to Norman’s room and shows Sabbath two hidden envelopes—one filled with money and the other with naked pictures of Michelle. Sabbath explains who he is, puts the envelopes back, and breaks down in front of Rosa.

Later, Sabbath ventures out into New York with “the-desire-to-not-be-alive-any-longer” (191) following him. He watches street performers and becomes one as well, reciting King Lear on the subway. As he does so, he thinks of how Kathy Goolsbee ended his career. Kathy was a student who he was sexually involved with, and when she accidentally left a recording of their phone sex in the college library, it eventually ended up with the dean. In addition to this, an activist group also made a recording and played it on a phone line every hour of the day. After the scandal, Kathy and Sabbath met. Kathy still wanted to be with Sabbath but Sabbath refused, threatening to kill her and claiming he killed his first wife, Nikki. The scandal unmoored Roseanna and she checked into rehab for alcohol addiction.

That night at dinner, Sabbath, in an attempt to seduce Michelle, plays with her feet under the table. Norman asks Sabbath to tell Michelle the story behind his obscenity charges and Sabbath tells her how, in 1956, he was performing with hand puppets on the street and unbuttoned a girl’s blouse, exposing her breast. He was fined and charged with obscenity. Michelle visits Sabbath later that night. She tells him that he was playing with Norman’s feet under the table and that Norman thinks he is having a breakdown. Sabbath tentatively makes a date with her and gives her his laundry. He hopes she can be the new Drenka.

The next morning Norman confronts Sabbath and tells him to leave. Michelle found crack and a pair of their daughter’s underwear in his pockets. Sabbath faints and wakes up in Norman’s bed. He sneaks out with the envelopes of money and naked photos and makes for the Jersey Shore, where he grew up.

At the Jersey Shore, Sabbath visits the graves of his parents and brother and buys a plot near them, using the money from the envelope. He plans to die by suicide. He puts his plan on pause, however, when he finds his cousin Fish still living in the same house. There he finds a box of Morty’s old belongings. He wraps himself in the flag Morty was sent home with and grieves for hours, finding a new purpose in protecting Morty’s things. He drives back to Massachusetts to put the box in a safe place but is horrified to find his wife in bed with a woman he and Drenka used to have threesomes with. He storms out and goes to Drenka’s grave.

Sabbath remembers his last conversations with Drenka, how she told him how happy she was to have him in his life, and how she never felt more connected to him than when they urinated on each other one time. Sabbath misses her fiercely. He writes his will, then urinates on her grave. He is caught by Matthew, who found his mother’s diary and knows everything that they did. He detains Sabbath and as they drive to the station, Sabbath tries to antagonize Matthew into killing him. Matthew refuses and eventually lets Sabbath out of the car, threatening to come after him if he ever tells anyone about Drenka’s sexual activities. As Matthew drives away, Sabbath realizes that he cannot die because everything he hates is in the living world.