This is Mr. Pirovitch, Mr. Kralik's friend.The Shop Around the Corner · 1940 — Chapter 10 of 19 · 5'05" · B1
Matuschek Learns of the Affair, Explained: mind your own business
The shop is closing for the night. A clerk argues that the boss fired his best man, and is told to mind his own business. Later a private detective reports what the boss already feared about his wife — and names one of his own employees. "Twenty-two years we've been married."
What happens
At closing time in Matuschek's leather-goods shop, a clerk asks the owner why he let the best salesman go, and is warned to mind his own business and keep his job. That evening a private investigator brings a written report: Matuschek's wife left home, took a taxi, and met a young man — later identified as one of his own employees.
Listen for
mind your own businessby any chanceget a glimpse oflet someone go
00:00 / 05:05Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Phrase of the scene
mind your own business
to stop asking about other people's private matters
皮罗维奇替克拉利克打抱不平，越说越激动，老板直接叫他少管闲事，保住饭碗要紧。
Mind your own business—this has nothing to do with you.
Also in this scene
- by any chance
used to ask politely whether something is the case
- get a glimpse of
to see something briefly
- let someone go
to dismiss someone from a job
Everything marked in this scene
43 notes across 65 lines
Will you please tell him when he comes that we are not working tonight, and I am coming over.liaison
Will you please tell him when he comes that we are not working tonight, and I am coming over.I hope you don't mind, Mr. Matuschek.He probably feels pretty low tonight, and I thought-- You don't have to explain.He probably feels pretty low tonight, and I thought-- You don't have to explain.What you do after working hours is your own business.What you do after working hours is your own business.what-clause as subject
What you do after working hours is your own business.You haven't changed your mind by any chance, Mr. Matuschek?used to ask politely whether something is the case
You haven't changed your mind by any chance, Mr. Matuschek?He's the best man you had, Mr. Matuschek.to dismiss someone from a job
Why did you let him go?elision
Why did you let him go?I warn you, Mr. Pirovitch-- His whole life he lived in this shop.I warn you, Mr. Pirovitch-- His whole life he lived in this shop.He was almost like a son to you.And you were so proud of him.You invited him to your home again and again.Mr. Pirovitch, you want to keep your job, don't you?tag question
Mr. Pirovitch, you want to keep your job, don't you?to stop asking about other people's private matters
In that case, mind your own business and go home.Oh, I beg your pardon, Mr. Matuschek.I'm, I'm not quite certain if I delivered Mrs. Matuschek's message.I'm, I'm not quite certain if I delivered Mrs. Matuschek's message.She told me when I gave her the 1,000 pengo to remind you to call her in case you change your mind and don't work tonight.She told me when I gave her the 1,000 pengo to remind you to call her in case you change your mind and don't work tonight.in case-clause
She told me when I gave her the 1,000 pengo to remind you to call her in case you change your mind and don't work tonight.You know, Mr. Matuschek the last time I had the pleasure to be at your apartment was several months ago when you sent me after your briefcase, you remember?You know, Mr. Matuschek the last time I had the pleasure to be at your apartment was several months ago when you sent me after your briefcase, you remember?to see something briefly
Today I had a chance to get a glimpse of your new dining room set.elision
Today I had a chance to get a glimpse of your new dining room set.I can imagine what it'll look like with all the lights on at a dinner party.- So it's true? - I'm afraid so, Mr. Matuschek.Here we have a complete record from our operatives.....two of our most reliable men.Well, Mr. Matuschek, your suspicion was right.Both our operatives identified him later as Mr. Vadas.There is such a man in your employ, isn't there?Twenty-two years we've been married....just didn't want to grow old with me.Oh, if you'll send me your bill I'll take care of it immediately.Oh, if you'll send me your bill I'll take care of it immediately.Matuschek Learns of the Affair, explained
What's really going on
The boss runs the shop like a family and expects absolute loyalty — he reminds the clerk that speaking up costs him his job. "Mr. Pirovitch, you want to keep your job, don't you?" The clerk has a family and two children, so he backs down and goes home; loyalty only flows one way. The final blow lands through paperwork rather than confrontation. A detective reads out dates, times and street corners, and a wife's quiet evening walk becomes proof of betrayal. The cruelest detail is that the man she met is not a stranger but Matuschek's own employee — the same kind of trusted near-son figure he has just cast out. When he says "Twenty-two years I was proud of my wife," the shop and the marriage collapse in the same night.
Theme
BetrayalA boss who prizes loyalty discovers that a trusted employee and his own wife have both betrayed the world he built around the shop.
PowerThe scene shows who gets to speak: a raised question can cost a man his livelihood, so the clerk swallows his protest.
What you'll learn
- Use let someone go to mean fire someone
- Catch the refusal in mind your own business
- Understand feel pretty low as emotional distress
- Soften questions with by any chance
Listen for
- coming over — liaison
- let him go — elision
- get a glimpse of — elision
What you do after working hours is your own business.The boss says the clerk's private life is not his concern — but it also quietly signals that anything beyond work, including loyalties, is off-limits to discuss.
...just didn't want to grow old with me.The line explains the betrayal not as passion but as a fear of aging: she left because she could not picture growing old at his side.
Twenty-two years I was proud of my wife.After the report, he sums up the marriage in a single number, twenty-two years, and the pride that made the betrayal land hardest.
He was almost like a son to you.The clerk's protest: the man just fired was treated like family, which is exactly why the dismissal feels like a betrayal.
Questions about this scene
Why does Matuschek fire Kralik?
The film never states it plainly here, and that is the point: he acts on hurt pride, not on evidence. The clerk's protest — that Kralik was the best man he had, almost like a son — only makes the dismissal look more arbitrary.
Does Matuschek believe the report about his wife?
He doesn't deny it. He confirms Vadas works for him, then says they had been married twenty-two years and that she just didn't want to grow old with him, as if the report only confirmed what he already suspected.
Who is the young man the investigator identifies?
He is identified as Ferencz Vadas, one of Matuschek's own employees, and the detective makes a point of noting that both operatives recognized him.
What does 'let him go' mean here?
It is a euphemism for firing someone. The clerk asks why the boss let the best employee go, meaning why he dismissed him, not why he allowed him to leave at the end of the day.
Is Pirovitch wrong to back down?
Not in the film's terms. He has a family and two children, and the boss's question makes the choice explicit: press the point and lose the job, or stay quiet and go home. He chooses his family.
The Shop Around the Corner · 19 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 11had enough bad news for todayKralik's Blind Date Is Miss Novak
Chapter 1make something out of nothingMorning Gossip at Matuschek's
Chapter 2earn one's daily breadThe Anonymous Letter From Box 237
Chapter 3make up your mindMatuschek's Singing Cigarette Box
Chapter 4go through the whole routineA Job Seeker's Sales Pitch
Chapter 5have a weakness forSelling the Musical Candy Box
Chapter 6knock on woodKralik Reveals His Pen Pal
Chapter 7pick on someoneMatuschek Turns on Kralik
Chapter 8call it a dayKlara Asks Kralik for a Night Off
Chapter 9of one's own accordMatuschek Fires Kralik
Watching · Chapter 10mind your own businessMatuschek Learns of the Affair
Chapter 11had enough bad news for todayKralik's Blind Date Is Miss Novak
Chapter 12instead of a heart, a handbagKralik and Novak Meet at the Cafe
Chapter 13kept in strictest confidenceMatuschek Confesses His Jealousy
Chapter 14a yes manKralik Fires Vadas
Chapter 15not in the same planetKralik Visits a Sick Klara
Chapter 16ruin ChristmasThe Staff Choose Christmas Gifts
Chapter 17from the bottom of my heartMatuschek Returns on Christmas Eve
Chapter 18your whole life ahead of youMatuschek Invites a Lonely Boy Home
Chapter 19swept me off my feetKlara Confesses to KralikChapter 10 of 19 · about 39 min to go