Many writers, having been influenced by particular works, adopt elements of such works and fashion them into their own story. Such is the case of the French dramatist, Jean Anouilh, who, inspired by the tragic tale of Romeo and Juliet, wrote a play Romeo and Jeannette , the action of which takes place in France in the twentieth century.

In terms of its plot, the play differs a lot from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Romeo, that is, Frederic, falls in love with his fiancé's sister Jeannette, which is quite unexpected when compared to the well-known love story of Romeo and Juliet. However, it is just another proof that love can happen when it is least expected, and that it is completely unpredictable.

From the very beginning of the play, Anouilh sharply contrasts Julia and her mother-in law, the dutiful and hard-working women, with Julia's father and her brother Lucien, who have an easy-going and relaxed attitude toward life. The dirty and messy house they live in is in a state of utmost disorder. Unlike Julia, they do not worry about trivialities, such as cleaning the dust, or what they will have for lunch. Instead, they all have “their own sweet ways” 28

However, Julia's superficial and shallow attitude toward life is best illustrated in comparison with her sister Jeannette, the passionate and unconventional heroine of the play. While Julia's only wish is to live in a neat tidy house and to preserve the routine – “the same old things, going on day in, day out like the ticking of the clock” 29 , Jeannete, in her search for true emotions, plays with life and tries new possibilities.

Jeannette carries the burden of her complex personality: she is at the same time strong and fragile, courageous and weak, vulgar and innocent; she is sometimes too passionate, sometimes too rash, but deep in her soul she is just an emotional lonely girl who longs for a true love in a loveless world where everybody searches for material wealth or social security.

Even her brother, Lucien, although introduced into the play with a book in his hand, categorically denies the possibility of love in life. Bitterly disappointed in women and love, and disillusioned with life, he shuts himself up in his room, where he reads all day long. Although a man of learning, he cannot find a way to overcome his feeling of being “a cuckold” and make a fresh start. On the contrary, his frustration makes him so embittered that his only solution is to isolate himself from the fallen world of modern society and go to the Ivory Coast : “The wilds for me, and good, black, primitive Negroes with heads thick as boulders and not idea, but absolutely no idea, what love is. Not a white within four hundred miles“ 30

When he meets Frederic, he speaks resentfully: “You seem the well-educated type, as they call it. I like you a lot. Frank, loyal, honest, clear, go-ahead, and all the rest of it. A proper little soldier.” 31

28 Jean Anouilh, Romeo and Jeannette, (London, Oxford University Press, 1976), p. 266
29 Ibid., p.279
30 Ibid., p.277
31 Ibid., p.270
26 Ibid., Act II, v
27 Jean Anouilh, Famous Quotes, http://www.1-famous-quotes.com