Archetypes

There are many archetype characters in Fiddler on the Roof. Tzeitel, Hodel, and Chava are archetypal lovers. It is tradition that the daughters are picked a match by the matchmaker, and that is who they will marry. They don't fall in love or have mutual attractions. But these three girls fall in love. Tzeitel and the tailor Motel ask for her father, Tevye's, permission to marry. Hodel and Perchik ask for his blessing. Chava and Fyedka don't get his permission, but run away and get married. The matchmaker, Yente, is an archetypal ruler. She doesn't have any sage wisdom, yet people just do whatever she says. Even if she comes up with a horrible match for a woman, she still marries the man that Yente picked. Anatevka is an archetypal setting because it is a small town where everybody knows everything about everybody but the gossip stories still get changed the more they are retold. Tzeitel and Motel's wedding is also an archetypal setting because weddings symbolize new beginnings and change. It is that wedding that Hodel and Perchik dance, which is an archetypal action/event that sets the trend for change through out the rest of the book.