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How does anonymous correspondence drive the romance in The Shop Around the Corner?
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Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch.
In Ernst Lubitsch's The Shop Around the Corner, the romance is driven by a central irony: the two protagonists, played by James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan, are coworkers in a Budapest notions shop who openly detest one another in their daily professional lives.1
Unbeknownst to them, they have already fallen in love through an anonymous correspondence. This secret connection creates a poignant contrast between their mutual workplace animosity and the deep affection they express in their letters, serving as the emotional engine for this classic romantic comedy.1