“Tradition!” amongst Trauma: Fiddler on the Roof as Memory of Jewish Life in Tsarist Russia

Fiddler on the Roof is a 1964 musical that tells the story of Tevye and his family in the shtetl of Anatevka. Although the story is based loosely on Sholem Aleichem's stories, the themes of Fiddler illustrate the importance of tradition, trauma, and nostalgia within the Jewish community of Tsarist Russia. This week, I reflect on my recent experience watching a production at Queen’s College Oxford and ask how far this reflects life for those in the shtetl?

 

The Jews in Russia

Jewish communities had long been a part of Russia following the first partition of Poland in 1792. Here they lived in designated spaces within a space termed The Pale of Settlement. They were integral as farmers and many served in key roles in judicial bodies. Whilst there were times the Jews were treated as equals – such as under Tsar Nicolas I’s inclusion of them for military service with Russians of similar social status – they also faced periods of uncertainty.

Klier has argued that the Jews of Russia faced distinct hatred for not just their clothing or language, but due to the perceived superiority placed on them over the non-Jews.[1] These fears of ‘superiority’ are evident through the Judeophobic St Petersburg newspaper Novoe vremia. Here, their campaign of hatred was publicised as “Zhid idet!” (“The Yid is Coming!”).[2] Likely influenced by the antisemitic trope of Jewish control, the paper's campaign further illustrated societal and political distrust of Jews. The Great Reforms of Alexander II prevented Jews from acquiring peasant land, reducing their ability to farm and make a livelihood. Furthermore, the Jewish people faced challenges in education. Many were banned from training to be lawyers or doctors, limiting their societal progression. As such, their place in society was often troubled and impacted by their perception.

The assassination of Alexander II on the 13^th of March 1881 certainly propelled the Jewish community to new hatred. Revolutionaries involved in the attack on the Tsar, whilst captured and tried, were not able to escape public scrutiny. Hesya Helfman, one person involved in the attack, had her Jewish origins brought to the attention of the public. Ignacy Hryniewiecki – also involved – was rumoured to be Jewish. Whether proven or rumoured, the connection of the revolutionaries of Narodnaya Volya to Judaism proved fatal for the community itself.

Antisemitism stirred up by the assassination manifested itself as pogroms. These were violent attacks towards the Jewish community, often intending to massacre or expel them. Alexander was killed in March, and between the 15^th of April and the 10^th of May 1881, 110 pogrom attacks took place.[3] Violence, it seems, became a part of life for the Jewish community following such a monumental political change. However, this was not just a short-term impact as attacks continued until the early twentieth century.

 

Fiddler on the Roof – Stage vs Shtetl

The life of the Jews within Russia’s The Pale of Settlement was increasingly difficult. This is clearest in the story of Fiddler on the Roof. Aleicheim’s stories of Tevye the Dairyman were adapted for a stage version in the mid-twentieth century and have proved a crucial reminder of the trauma facing Jewish communities both then in Tsarist Russia and later following the Holocaust.[4]

In the production, the first half centres on family and tradition in an ever-changing world. The life of the fictitious shtetl (town) of Anatevka is brought to life through the opening number ‘Tradition.’ Here, the audience is informed of the role of each person in the family unit and the importance of this to life in Anatevka. Life, it seems, works as long as they follow the traditions set before them. Yet, throughout the first act we see how tradition cannot protect their community. There are various hints of “disturbances” when the Commissioner comes to tell Tevye personally about the matters. Ultimately, these will later become pogroms, but it shows how intelligence was exchanged between the Jews and Gentiles as long as they communicated. Tevye is seen as ‘funny’ to the Commissioner, so they are willing to share this information with them. There seems to be a care between the police and the community, despite tensions that may otherwise be present. Despite Tevye's efforts to be aware of these changes, he is still struck by them. On Tzeitel's wedding, at the end of Act One, an attack is carried out – showing just how disruptive and uncaring the world had become to the Jews.

The second half of the production, however, takes a darker turn. We return to Anatevka in a period of desperation. Tensions are high, and despite Tevye’s eldest daughter Tzeitel being married, life has not improved much. The development of the relationships of the eldest daughters (Tzeitel, Hodel and Chava) acts as a reminder that those involved in these pogroms, whilst facing tension, also faced everyday issues too. The production highlights the reality of these girls dreaming of their lives and seeing these plans out. It adds a very real dimension to their characters and gives them hope in these troubled times. However, hope is not enough to sustain the tensions the Jews of Anatevka are facing in the second act.

With the increasing tensions, the theme of displacement develops. Hodel – who ends up marrying Perchik (a revolutionary educator and thinker) – moves to Siberia to be with him. Tevye himself is also faced with displacement, and at the end of the show he and his community are to leave Anatevka for good. They must leave on the orders of the state, and he and his family choose to emigrate to America. Displacement, therefore, crucially shows the strain of life in the shtetl against a growing hostile political sphere.

 

Is Fiddler Accurate?

For all of its theatrics, Fiddler presents a harrowing account of Jewish life in Tsarist Russia. It highlights the tensions between the state and its people, their inability to find solace, and the harsh realities of needing to leave.

Many studies have been conducted by academics and contemporaries into the reality of shtetl life. Deutsch in The Jewish Dark Continent (2011) has highlighted how contemporaries like An-sky recorded shtetl life against social constraints. In Fiddler, the eldest daughters often engage in singing – typically when they sing about their ambitions of finding a husband in the charismatic Matchmaker scene. An-Sky – a Jewish author and researcher of folklore – would often struggle to record the singing of village women due to the societal taboo of it being improper for women to sing in front of men under kol isha (voice of a woman).[5] The inclusion of singing, albeit in a musical, is important. In the scope of a musical, song is used to portray strong emotions and feelings. By having the daughters sing this emphasis their longing and desire – perhaps tying them into the folklore narrative of singing and it’s importance. Additionally, singing is used in the show to present prayer and other rituals so does to an extent portray an accurate narrative.

The tension of the Tsarist society is equally shown in the musical. Although muted and an undercurrent in the first half, by the second half we see the growth of these tensions. The violence of the world in the period the performance is set in, is established accurately within the play. There is no attempt to dismiss it and portray a happy family life. Instead, the tension of society helps highlight how their community values are significant. It becomes a space where tradition and change collide. Tevye struggles with the changing world – both the politics externally and internally within his own family – and yet, by the end of the play he must adapt and leave his home for his own betterment. Tensions create a sense of challenge both in real life, and in the play. It, therefore, accurately depicts how strains could have influenced family life.

Whilst Fiddler does support many of the established feelings of fear and tension in the wake of violence from pogroms, it only portrays one narrative. It showcases the stories of Aleicheim which were based on his experience growing up in a shtetl near modern-day Kiev. We do not know for certain whether the experiences of those writing from another location would mirror such community dynamics with the Commissioner. I, for one, would find a narrative from Lazar Wolfe to be quite an interesting and different perspective. We must, therefore, be aware of the perspective and insight Aleicheim gives us through his characters.

In addition, we must also be aware of the influences of post-Tsarist society within the play. It was the 1960s when the musical came out, less than two decades after the horrors of the Holocaust. Timing is crucial for examining attitudes towards violence for the audience. Those who watched it may have been reminded, if they were Jewish immigrants, of the atrocities they may have faced either during the Holocaust or from the stories of those they knew who grew up in the Shtetls. This is important as the play could have been used to evoke a sense of nostalgia for the life and community before this upset occurred.

Fiddler on the Roof does not aim to be a textbook, and yet, it has become one of the most powerful literary and musical works of Jewish cultural memory. Offering no footnotes or records for the archivist, instead it turns to song, ritual and story to convey a truth that numbers cannot alone. Displacement, endurance of tradition and the steady tale of forced migration.

As a non-Jewish student of history, I watched Fiddler not just as entertainment but as a cultural record that bridged real-life events and feelings. Reading a history book brings one perspective, but adapting one person’s life to a story tells another. Together, they make a compelling argument about life under the Tsarist regime.

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[1] John D. Klier, Russians, Jews and the Pogroms of 1881-1882 (Cambridge, 2011), p.3

[2] Ibid., p.7

[3] Map 2, Sites of anti-Jewish violence, 15 April to 10 May 1881, in John D. Klier, Russians, Jews, and the Pogroms of 1881-1882 (Cambridge, 2011), pp. xxii - xxiv

[4] Markus Krah, American Jewry and the Re-Invention of the East European Jewish Past (Berlin, 2018), pp.157-158

[5] Nathaniel Deutsch, The Jewish Dark Continent: Life and Death in the Russian Pale of Settlement, (Cambridge, 2011), pp.19-20