How we cite our quotes: Story Number.Paragraph
Quote #4
At first I thought, Lazer-Wolf? Tzeitl? He has children her age. But then I reminded myself that it was a stroke of luck for her. A stroke of luck! She would have everything she wanted! So he wasn't the most generous man. Nowadays that wasn't the greatest virtue. […] He had one fault—he was somewhat common. Oh well, could everyone be a scholar? (4.34)
Here, Tevye talks himself into having Lazer-Wolf for a son-in-law by flipping every terrible character flaw into a net neutral or even net positive. Does identity come from how other people interpret you?
Quote #5
I quoted a portion [of the Torah] to him, as only Tevye can. […] As I talked with this young fellow, for some reason I felt drawn to him. Maybe it's because I like a person with whom I can talk, with whom I can discuss a biblical commentary, have a philosophical argument, speculate about life, on this, on that, and who knows what else. That's the kind of person Tevye is. (5.34-39)
It's weird that Tevye switches to the third person (you know, "as only Tevye can" and "that's the kind of person Tevye is") when he's talking up his philosophical cred here? It's not one of his usual verbal tics. Modesty? Or something else?
Quote #6
What else was there to do? We all went back to work, my wife and children to the milk jugs, I to the horse and wagon. The world goes on its accustomed course—the world does not stand still. I told everyone in the household that Chava was not to be remembered or mentioned—no more Chava! erased!—and that was it. […] my customers celebrated and rejoiced to see me [and I told them that] one of my calves died. (6.96-98)
Wow, that's some crazy harsh stuff right there. Not only does he totally erase Chava from the family—seriously, they even sit shiva for her, which is something you only do to mourn the dead—but Tevye even takes away her actual humanity by busting out this white lie about a dead calf. But then again, from his point of view, Chava started the process of erasing her identity herself by leaving her Jewish family for a Gentile dude.