The story takes place in Anatevka, an
impoverished peasant town in Tsarist Russia, populated by hard-working Jewish
families. We are introduced by Tevye, the dairyman—a religious man who has
raised his five daughters with the quotations from the Scriptures. The people
of Anatevka are a tight-knit group who hear little news of the outside world,
and their lives are governed strictly by the age-old laws of tradition.
Yente, the matchmaker, goes to Tevye’s house to tell his wife Golde that
Lazar Wolf, the wealthiest butcher, wants to marry their eldest daughter,
Tzeitel. Golde is delighted at such a good catch for Tzeitel, despite the fact
that Lazar Wolf is old and uneducated. Tevye, the father, meets Lazar Wolf at
the local inn and agrees to let the butcher marry Tzeitel. While Tevye is
promising Tzeitel’s hand to Lazar Wolf, the girl is promising her own hand to a
meek and poor tailor, Motel. When they tell Tevye that they want to get
married, he is shocked that they have broken the tradition. Originally, Papa
should choose the husband for the daughter. But, realizing that their love is
deep, he gives his blessing, much to Motel’s amazement. Accidentally, Tevye encounters Perchik, a young student from Kiev. Tevye
desires his girls to grow up with the principles of the Good Book. He asks
Perchik to stay and offers food to him if he will give lessons to his daughters.
Perchik agrees. Now, faced with the problem of informing his wife that Tzeitel
will not be marrying with Lazar (butcher), Tevye devises a scheme. Playing upon
Golde’s superstitions, Tevye tells her that her long deceased grandmother came
to him and wanted him to make a match with Motel, the tailor. Golde is then
convinced that Motel is the better choice. Now, Tzeitel has set a precedent by
marrying the man she loves, the old order begins to break down. The wedding of Motel and Tzeitel is a joyous traditional event, until Perchik
and Hodel break tradition by dancing together. Later, the party is interrupted
by the police who are ordered to carry out the threatened purge by smashing the
gifts and destroying the furnishing of the Jewish homes. After getting married,
Motel and Tzeitel are poor but happy in their marriage. At the same time,
Perchik and Hodel are in love. They decide to marry each other and ask for
Tevye’s blessing. Now, Tevye’s second daughter has also broken tradition by
arranging her own marriage. Nevertheless, after wedding, Perchik must
immediately join his fellow citizens in their revolutionary social activities.
Soon after, news arrives that Perchik has been arrested in Kiev and has been
sent to Siberia. Hodel decided to follow him and leave home. Chava, Tevye’s
third daughter, has fallen in love with Fyedka, a Russian man. When she tells
her father that they have already married, Tevye can bend no more. He cannot
stand that his tradition and faith have broken down. He disowns Chava. Now the safe world, which Tevye has struggled so hard to build for his
family, receives its final blow. The Tsar has ordered all Jews to evacuate
their age-old homes in Anatevka and move elsewhere. The villagers have begun to
move to all corners of the globe. Tevye’s few belongings are packed on his
cart. He brings whole family to leave Anatevka, heading for a new life in
America. As the town’s people leave, they are followed by a fiddler and a young
boy. The musician gives his fiddle to the young boy, who is left alone to carry
on the tradition.