MovieChat Forums > Fiddler on the Roof (1971) Discussion > Paying for long trips.....

Paying for long trips.....

posted 13 years ago by Tekawitha
12 replies | jump to latest

Has anyone noticed that somehow Teyeve (and everyone else) are uberpoor, but somehow have money to pay for *very* long trips?

1) Hodel's trip to Siberia....he didnt even know where she was going till they were in the little 'bus stop' beside the track. she is going from Yugoslavia up to Siberia...on WHAT money??! even if the whole farm had been sold, i doubt it would have paid for a ticket there, if there was even a track going there. so how did she get there? only thing i can figure is that she would travel as far as she could, get off, and find a job that would give her food, board and a little money, work that till she had enough collected up to travel another step, etc.

2) the chasing of all the Jews out of town. How did everyone suddely have the money to be confident that they were going to America, Israel, Poland, etc?? and how did they get their wagons of household belongings across that river? i didnt see anything but people on that ferry. did Teyeve and the others just travel till they found bridges? but then, when they got to a port, how did they get their stuff on the ship?

...ok, im weird this way. i watch a movie, and worry about them! ^.^

~*~~*~

"Ooh!Pass the popcorn! This is gonna be good!"

[–] benny1-1 13 years ago

They worked their way to where they were going.

[–] xdayton 13 years ago

The head Russian dude asks Tevya how long it would take to sell his house. The implication is that the Jews were forced to sell, probably at a horrendously low price, all of their holdings to the local Gentiles.

[–] Tekawitha 13 years ago

so Tevyev knew his daughter would have to get off the train in some strange town, find a place to live, work till she could afford another ticket, rinse and repeat? God, i could never allow my daughter to do that!

~*~~*~

"Ooh!Pass the popcorn! This is gonna be good!"

[–] brackenhe 13 years ago

You assume that travel is like what it is today, when it wasn't that way at all. There was steerage on ships which was probably the equivalent of being transported like any other cargo, not necessarily a 1st class ticket. It was a lot cheaper in the early 1900's to travel and if they sold everything they could get enough for the 4 of them (Tevye, Golde & the 2 youngest girls) to go to NYC. As far as their goods, they probably sold them before they left Russia (not Yugoslavia--that's just where it was filmed--the movie is set in Ukraine.)

[–] Tekawitha 13 years ago

im still wondering how poor Hodel got up to Siberia...theres no way that her parents could have paid for a full trip-they had just had to pay for a wedding not long before that.

and yes, i know about steerage-i was a Titanic 'fan' long before the Cameron movie came out. i used to visit the "Queen Mary" in Long Beach, California, and saw what sort of accommodations were available. not too bad, if you were lucky enough to get on a luxury ship like that. but most were not. and as for Tevye and his family selling off their things...theres no way they could have sold off their house and everything for prices anywhere near their worth, not with a whole town full of people being forced to do the same thing. they essentially had to only take clothes and one or two valuables that they could carry by hand...look at Lazar Wolf- most likely, in his suitcases were his working tools, so he could work his way across to the nearest port.Tevye wasnt so lucky...he would have to take whatever work he could get, to earn money for daily meals on their way to the coast, and once there, sell off most of whatever was in the cart for the boat tickets, i think...

~*~~*~

"Ooh!Pass the popcorn! This is gonna be good!"

[–] angelosdaughter 12 years ago

That scene where Hodel and Tevya wait together for the train is so poignant. The fact is that it is unlikely that they will ever see each other again. "Far from the Home I Love" makes me cry, too. All Tevye can do as the train pulls away is ask God to take care of his daughter.
My Papa was an immigrant who came to America alone at the age of 17.His mother died, asking for him to come home, and he could not go.
He never saw his family again. I could never have left him for anything or anyone in this world.

[–] drivenkick43 12 years ago

Don't know about everyone, but I assumed Teyve had some money from selling off his livestock. When he is saying goodbye to his horse and cattle (strangely sad scene BTW) he says something to the effect of "so-and-so will be here this evening to collect you." I assume that in the three days they had he was able to find a buyer for his livestock. Sure, the nearly lame horse wouldn't bring much, but the milk cows had to have some decent value.

The constable also said they have three days to sell their land and houses, but like someone else said, that couldn't have brought much with so many people being forced to sell on such short notice.

Also, Poland shares a border with the Ukraine (which was part of Russia at the time of FOTR), so that was a relatively short and inexpensive trip that could be made on foot. I will surmise that many more people from the village were going to Poland than to America. In fact the only two people/groups we know that went to America were Teyve (who had money from his cattle?) and Lazar Wolf, who we know was perhaps the richest guy in the village.

As for the crossing of the river, in one shot you can see a bunch more people still waiting on the bank. Don't remember if they still had the wagons with them or not.

[–] briarswt 12 years ago

The thing that always gets me is the knowledge that many of these people probably did get stuck in Eastern Europe - likely Poland. And in a few decades, they, or their descendants, would be could up in yet another pogrom which, instead of costing only their property, would cost their lives as well.

Hodel and Perchek would likely still be ok if they didn't leave Russia - and I don't think they were planning to right? So they were safe.

Golde, Tevye, and the youngest two would potentially be out too.

Tzetial and Chava? and their families? Well, I just never saw poor Motel being able to make quite enough to leave Poland. . . . and Chava and her husband spoke as though Krakow was their stopping point. The question becomes whether or not they were smart and kept Chava's background to themselves, or not. If so, Chava and any children or grandchildren would be "safe." If not, well. . .

[–] ceceoh 12 years ago

Tevye was working poor. He had land, livestock and a small business which provided a steady income. But he still lived in the back of beyond in the 19th century, so whatever money he brought in most likely was saved after basic needs were met. So there would have been money to spend for important occasions and emergencies. The only time I questioned the "reality" of the film was Tevye keeping the lame horse. He probably could have saved enough to buy another animal if his kindness hadn't caused him to keep and feed a horse that couldn't earn its keep.

[–] rwsmith29456 11 years ago

She wasn't having to rush. Perchik was going to be there a LONG time.

[–] jefgg 10 years ago

I thought maybe they had money saved for emergencies and/or had stuff like silver candlesticks they could sell for a few bucks. I heard travel by boat was relatively cheap back then ... and also painfully slow.

[–] Tekawitha 10 years ago

the silver candle sticks are an important part of Sabbath dinners, and selling would never occur to them. and it would be rather difficult to take ship from the Ukraine up to Siberia, with no ocean or waterways going north....

~*~~*~

"Ooh!Pass the popcorn! This is gonna be good!"