Lazar Wolf seemed like a good man. Just widowed, old and lonely.
shareLazar Wolf seemed like a good man. Just widowed, old and lonely.
Yes, I felt sorry for him. Like all the fans of FOTR, I was happy when Tzeitel & Motel finally got their happy ending, but, I felt bad that Lazar Wolf really thought he was the one who was going to marry her, until all of a sudden, there was a change of plans.
Totus Tuus O Maria!!! Totus Tuus O Jesu!!!!
If he were that lonely, he could have found himself a nice 40-year-old woman who
would keep him company and would be happy to be the wife of a local businessman. Setting his sights on a girl young enough to be his granddaughter, however, was just distasteful. And his bad temper at the wedding
over losing her hinted at what would have been in store for her if she had been forced
to marry him--a life full of drudgery at the butcher shop, nightly verbal abuse and beatings at the hands of an old man, and her weeping into the night. Her tearful begging to her father to break his promise conveyed her revulsion at being tied to the old lech. He only went after the girl because he knew the family was
poor and wanted their daughter to eat regularly; shame on him for exploiting a poor family just so he could nab a young girl for himself.
I'm not crying, you fool, I'm laughing!
Hewwo.
If he were that lonely, he could have found himself a nice 40-year-old woman who would keep him company...
And his bad temper at the wedding over losing her hinted at what would have been in store for her if she had been forced to marry him
That was a very small village and most likely all the eligible women of his age range were already married. His choosing a young woman is not at all unusual for that time, especially since he and Frumah Sarah never had children--a young wife would be more likely to give him a son to say Kaddish for him after he died, to carry on the family name. Also, it was not lechery--the look on his face at the wedding was of great pain and sorrow--he had tears in his eyes, they were wet and so sad, but he held the tears back. One can understand that he was angry at the wedding feast--not excusing the outburst, just saying I can understand it. He is also NOT presented as crude or likely to beat his wife; he just was not a Talmud scholar (all that money but not learned), which is what Tevye wanted for his daughter--but definitely did not come off as a violent man--and yes, I did feel bad for him--he had been noticing her for a while, had developed feelings for her, was given the blessings of her father to marry her, then all his dreams were snatched away.
shareIt's never mentioned in the musical, but in the original story (part of which is read aloud as a special feature on the DVD), Tevye DOES mention Lazar having children as old as Tzeitel. (Which makes the situation all the more awkward, but age differences back then weren't quite so unusual in marriage--especially in an age when women were more likely to die in childbirth and men would re-marry to give their children a mother.)
shareYeah, Lazar got screwed. Or more to the point, he didn't get screwed. It's not his fault that Motel and Tzeitel were already together.
I want the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.
He was nice but it was a little creepy. He was what, in his 60s? And she 19.
Nope.
I did. He was a good man, and deserved to be happy. I don't think he would have beaten his wife or anything. Yes by today's standards the age difference is weird, but he liked her. I'm glad Tzeitel and Motel got married, and he was classy to come to their wedding and give the couple a nice gift. Yes, he was hurt and according to their traditions Tevye was in the wrong, so I can forgive his little blow up at Tevye at the wedding. He was a good man, and one of my favorite characters in the show.
shareI didn't feel bad that the marriage fell through -- it was a deal, and deals fall through sometimes -- but I was embarrassed on his behalf during the wedding that they loudly talked about how gracious he was. I know they meant well, but they pretty much said "It's great you're not a sore loser!" in front of everyone.
shareI felt a little bad for him, but the marriage with Tzeitel was not meant to be.
Lazar probably found a nice woman in Chicago.