Hermeneutic analysis of Tevye the dairyman plot: Sholem Aleichem, Joseph Stein, Grigory Gorin

The paper considers the self dentity problem raised in texts representing the plot of Tevye the Dairyman, based on a short stories cycle by the Jewish writer Sholem Aleichem. Hermeneutical analysis is focused on a comparison of the plot structure in the texts by Sholem Aleichem, in the libretto of the musical (its film version) «Fiddler on the Roof» by Joseph Stein and in the play «Memorial Prayer» by Grigory Gorin. Each of the three versions is considered through the prism of the socio cultural context in which it was created. In the short stories cycle by Sholem Aleichem Tevye the Dairyman is depicted as an embodiment of the Jewish culture with its beliefs and traditions. And here the author speaks about ethnic identity of the main hero. But for Stein and Gorin the problem of the main hero’s identity involves a person questioning his sense of self or place in the world. So in «Fiddler on the Roof» by Joseph Stein and in the play «Memorial Prayer» by Grigory Gorin the self identity problem becomes more universal. Gorin relies on the plot created by the American playwright and screenwriter, but writes a completely independent story. Special attention in the paper is paid to the category of «Russian», which is described by Gоrin as «a Russian person with Jewish origin and of the Jewish faith». This formula is understood as a way to overcome ethnic and cultural boundaries.