What eventually became of Tevyas Family-spoilers!...an d very sad.
From the books...
Shprintze's story begins as Tevye helps a wealthy widow with her son, Aarontchik, whom she thinks is a lazy ne'er-do-well. Aarontchik and Shprintze end up falling in love, and a marriage is arranged. Everything seems to work out fine this time. However, Aarontchik's family is against that marriage (Tevye is too poor). In a conversation with Tevye they try to undo the arrangement by offering Tevye money. Infuriated and humiliated Tevye throws their money at them. A week or so later, on his way home from deliveries, he sees a commotion at a pond nearby their home. Tevye comments to Sholom Aleichem as he tells the story:
When someone dies he usually dies with his eyes closed. A drowned person's eyes are wide open.
Shprintze had committed suicide.
Beilke and Others
In the first part of this story Tevye briefly sums up what has happened so far and adds, en passant, that his wife, Golde, has passed away. He remembers that Shprintze is dead, and that Chava also, to him, is dead. Tzeitel and Motl are busy raising their own family. Then he concentrates on Beilke, Tevye's last daughter. Teibel is mentioned in the previous story about Shprintze, but she has no story of her own. She is also not mentioned in this story. It's as if Sholom Aleichem forgot she existed. Beilke is left to take care of Tevye. He refers to Beilke as:
A woman of valour... She had always been devoted to me, but since Golde died I became the apple of her eye.
In a way, Beilke represents a return to tradition. The town matchmaker finds a match for Beilke. The matchmaker describes him:
He is a contractor, this Padhatzur, he builds houses and factories and bridges. He was in Japan during the war and made a fortune4.
Beilke was no more eager to marry him than she was to lie down and die. The more he showered her with gifts, with gold watches and rings and diamonds, the more distasteful he became to her.
Tevye tried to tell Beilke she didn't have to marry Padhatzur, that money isn't everything; 'just look at your sister Hodel, who is still happy as a pauper'. Beilke responds:
In those days people were concerned about the world and forgot about themselves. Now that the world is back to where it was, people think about themselves and forget about the world.
This quote has a double meaning. First, it explains why Beilke marries Padhatzur: she puts the world (or the rational view) in front of her personal (or emotional) needs. It also provides irony in that we know that all is not right with the world.
As one might guess, Padhatzur is not a great match for Beilke. He tells all those in his circle of connections that Beilke comes from a rich family. Due to this he needs a way to get Tevye out of town. He buys Tevye a ticket to Palestine (hence the title of the story). When Tevye leaves, Beilke cries, 'because you are leaving on my account, and there is nothing I can do to stop it'.
Get Thee Out!
In the last story Get Thee Out Tevye's miseries continue. He never gets to Palestine. Motl dies, and Tevye returns to support Tzeitel and his grandchildren. Padhatzur loses all his money and he and Beilke move to America where both work in a stocking factory. In the end Tevye is forced to leave his home because of an official 'ethnic cleansing' measure of the government. Finally, Tevye is confronted with Chava again; she appears in the room, while he is packing his things, and close to tears she can only bring herself to say one word, 'Father'. Tevye asks Sholom Aleichem what he would have done: take his daughter in his arms, or turn away once more? We're never told which choice Tevye made.