Foil

Character Role Analysis

Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly

Roxie and Velma both want one thing: fame. And they're both willing to do whatever it takes to get it. In their world—prison in Chicago in the 1920s—what it takes involves exploiting themselves, their sex appeal, and their crime.

However, there's a key difference between the two women. Velma had a career; Roxie didn't. Velma knows what it was like to be on top. But "being on top" is most definitely in the past tense for poor V. Her career is U-shaped, and during most of the movie, Velma is at the bottom of that U, trying to regain fame.

Roxie, whose career (she hopes) is like a slash (/) is starting that upward climb, to get the fame she dreamed of, but has yet to experience. And maybe she never will, because Chicago is a fickle place for fame. Hey, just look at what happened to Velma.