Well, I've got a big dinner date tonight.The Shop Around the Corner · 1940 — Chapter 6 of 19 · 4'49" · B2
Kralik Reveals His Pen Pal, Explained: knock on wood
Kralik asks for advice on marriage as if it were a hypothetical, then admits the truth: he's been writing to a woman for months and has never met her. "I haven't met her yet," he confesses, terrified she'll be disappointed by the real him.
What happens
At Matuschek's shop, Alfred Kralik greets his coworker Pirovitch and asks, hypothetically, what it costs for a man like him to marry. Miss Novak trades barbs with Kralik over a blouse. Later, Kralik admits to Pirovitch that he's been corresponding with a woman he's never met, and is meeting her tonight at 8:30.
Listen for
figure someone outget along with someoneknock on woodcouldn't be better
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Phrase of the scene
knock on wood
said to avoid bad luck after a hopeful remark
克拉利克对见面又期待又害怕，临了让皮罗维奇替自己敲敲木头，讨个好彩头。
The car has never broken down—knock on wood.
Also in this scene
- figure someone out
to understand someone's character or motives
- get along with someone
to have a good, easy relationship with someone
- couldn't be better
to be in the best possible state
Everything marked in this scene
34 notes across 118 lines
to understand someone's character or motives
Say, how do you figure him out, anyway?Say, how do you figure him out, anyway?to have a good, easy relationship with someone
I give up. It's certainly very difficult to get along with him these days.liaison
I give up. It's certainly very difficult to get along with him these days.He better, because I'm going to ask him for a raise.Pirovitch, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?- No, go ahead. - Well, it's very confidential.Well, now suppose that a fellow like me wants to, wants to get married.Well, now suppose that a fellow like me wants to, wants to get married.that-clause as object
Well, now suppose that a fellow like me wants to, wants to get married.Leaving out the children.Well, why fool yourself?Three room? What do you need three rooms for?to be in the best possible state
No, no, she couldn't be better.elision
No, no, she couldn't be better.And everybody else thought it was very becoming.And believe me, Mr. Kralik, if you think I couldn't say anything about your neckties just ask Mr. Vadas. So, please leave my blouse alone.It's none of your business.I'm working under you.Well, from now on, I'll telephone you every morning and describe exactly what I'm going to wear.liaison
Well, from now on, I'll telephone you every morning and describe exactly what I'm going to wear.Well, for heaven's sake, I don't care what you wear.But I have my troubles of my own without your blouse coming between Mr. Matuschek and me.Oh, well, you know that girl I was corresponding with?Well, after a while we got on the subject of love ...naturally on a very cultural level.Well, after a while we got on the subject of love ...naturally on a very cultural level.if-clause as object
What do you mean? You love a girl and you don't know if you like her?I keep postponing it and postponing it. I.....did you ever get a bonus?As long as the envelope's closed, you're a millionaire.as long as for condition
As long as the envelope's closed, you're a millionaire.I haven't slept for days.said to avoid bad luck after a hopeful remark
Now, you-you knock on wood for me.Kralik Reveals His Pen Pal, explained
What's really going on
The surface is shop small talk, but Kralik is circling one subject he can't name. He asks what marriage would cost a fellow like me, then can't stop himself from confessing the real situation: he's been writing to a woman for months and has never seen her. "I haven't met her yet," he admits, and one reply cuts straight to the contradiction — "You love a girl and you don't know if you like her?" The bonus talk says the same thing: "As long as the envelope's closed, you're a millionaire." As long as Kralik doesn't open the letter, or meet the woman, the hope survives. Meeting her tonight means it might not.
Theme
RomanceKralik is in love with a woman he has only met on paper, and he's about to risk the fantasy.
LonelinessBoth Kralik and the unseen woman pour their real selves into letters rather than face each other.
What you'll learn
- Use as long as to set a condition.
- Use figure someone out for reading people.
- Hear might as uncertainty, not a promise.
- Ask for a raise when discussing pay.
Listen for
- get along with — liaison
- couldn't be better — elision
- from now on — liaison
Listen, if someone is really your friend he comes after dinner.A real friend doesn't need to be entertained; he drops by after the meal. It's a practical excuse for a small apartment — and a joke about how few friends rate a dinner invitation.
As long as the envelope's closed, you're a millionaire.Waiting to open the bonus envelope keeps the hope alive; once it's opened, reality replaces the dream. Here it stands for Kralik's fear of finally meeting the woman he's idealized.
That's the best thing that could happen to you.The reaction to the idea of marriage itself: instant, wholehearted approval, before anyone asks who the woman is.
The main thing is that you like her.A simple verdict on love: looks and ideals matter less than whether you actually like the person you're marrying.
Questions about this scene
Why is the marriage question framed as a "suppose"?
He's already in love and thinking about it seriously, but admitting that would make him too vulnerable, so he hides behind a hypothetical and lets "a fellow like me" do the talking.
Why is Kralik so afraid to meet the woman?
Because she has built him up in her letters as the most wonderful person in the world, and he's sure the real man can't live up to that image — or that she won't either.
What is the blouse argument really about?
Not clothing. The two needle each other constantly, and the blouse is just the current excuse — each one claims the other is watching too closely.
Is Kralik wrong to hide that he hasn't met her?
It isn't a lie, just an omission he's ashamed of. He hasn't misled her; he's been too scared to turn the letters into a real meeting.
Who is the woman Kralik has been writing to?
The scene keeps her hidden; he knows her only through letters and a red carnation in a copy of Anna Karenina. The film's answer is that she's closer than he thinks.
The Shop Around the Corner · 19 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 7pick on someoneMatuschek Turns on Kralik
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
Watching · 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
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 6 of 19 · about 58 min to go