Who is Tevye from Tevye the Dairyman and the Railroad Stories and what is their importance?

Tevye is the philosophical dairyman who is ready to quote the Bible or some other Jewish text on every occasion. He is married to Golde and has 7 daughters. Tevye has so many dependents and a driving need to make money but fails when he tries investing in the stock market. Tevye is confronted with modern thinking and ways as he seeks to marry off his daughters. He is in a dilemma as most of his daughters refuse to accept arranged marriages. Tevye manages to raise himself from total poverty after he gets a large some for rescuing two Jewish women lost in the woods. However, Tevye's attempt to quickly become wealthy is stopped when he loses all his savings in financial speculation. Each time that Tevye has a daughter to marry off, the situation seems to get worse. Finally, Tevye is expelled from his village and forced to wander as an old man.