I hope you'll forgive this intrusion, but I..The Shop Around the Corner · 1940 — Chapter 15 of 19 · 6'01" · B2
Kralik Visits a Sick Klara, Explained: not in the same planet
The junior clerk drops in on his sick colleague, all politeness. She answers that they are in the same room but not the same planet, then reads him a letter from a man she adores and describes the type who would never walk up to a table uninvited. "It's amazing what one letter can do."
What happens
Kralik, the shop's senior clerk, visits Miss Novak at her apartment while she is sick. He apologizes for the intrusion and says he feels like a father to their little shop family. She is having none of it, cracks a joke about them living on different planets, then reads him a letter and brightens up: she promises to return to work on her toes and buys a Christmas gift.
Listen for
not in the same planetcan't help but admireput a man in his planeton one's toes
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Phrase of the scene
not in the same planet
living in a completely different reality
克拉利克把她的低落轻描淡写地说成心理问题，诺瓦克小姐立刻用 not in the same planet 把人顶了回去，暗示两人根本不在一个层次上。
When it comes to politics, my brother and I are not in the same planet.
Also in this scene
- can't help but admire
cannot stop oneself from admiring
- put a man in his planet
a playful twist on putting someone in their place
- on one's toes
保持警觉、随时准备行动
Everything marked in this scene
35 notes across 97 lines
Being in charge of the shop, I feel more as like a father to our little family, I..So, you better get well.I'm sure I'll be alright in a day or two.liaison
I'm sure I'll be alright in a day or two....because I-I feel more or less responsible for the whole thing.Oh, no, Mr. Kralik. Oh, no. I think I can relieve your mind.It wasn't your fault at all.ought to for advice
Well, don't you think you oughta call a doctor?No, my trouble is what one might call...psychological.Well, it's my own personal problem and I'll come out of it.It's a shame you have to go through all this.Of course, as long as it's only psychological, you won't..cannot stop oneself from admiring
Although I'm the victim of your remark I can't help but admire the exquisite way you have of expressing yourself.Although I'm the victim of your remark I can't help but admire the exquisite way you have of expressing yourself.a playful twist on putting someone in their place
You certainly know how to put a man in his planet.Oh. W-well, Mr. Kralik it certainly was kind of you to drop in.I have nothing to do. No. Go right ahead and read the letter.- 'If you don't mind.' - No, not at all.elision
- 'If you don't mind.' - No, not at all.Mr. Kralik, I can promise you I'll be back in the shop tomorrow and I'll be on my toes!liaison
Mr. Kralik, I can promise you I'll be back in the shop tomorrow and I'll be on my toes!Well! That's quite a change in you.You know, if I weren't feeling so happy I'd be very annoyed with you.second conditional for an unreal present
You know, if I weren't feeling so happy I'd be very annoyed with you.must have for deduction about the past
He must have. Listen."Tell me and be frank. I think you owe it to me.He's just the type women fall for."He doesn't seem to be much of a man, this friend of yours.relative clause with who
He's not the type of man who would walk up to a table uninvited.Oh, well, that doesn't make any difference.Oh, Miss Novak, now, you're taking an awful chance. Oh, yes.Oh, I'm sure he'd be crazy about it.No, just the same, I'm gonna give him a cigarette box.Except that I wish you a Merry Christmas. Both of you.Kralik Visits a Sick Klara, explained
What's really going on
Under the office small talk, this is a courtship neither will admit to. She keeps him at arm's length with a single cutting image — "it's true we're in the same room but we're not in the same planet" — and he takes the hit and turns it into a compliment. He cannot help but admire how she says it. Then she hands him the real weapon: she reads her admirer's letter out loud and sketches her ideal man as someone tactful, sensitive, the type women fall for, everything she believes her visitor is not — and he sits there, listening, while she says it. Her mood flips the moment the letter arrives; she is suddenly ready to sell more goods than ever. The gap between what each of them knows is the whole scene.
Theme
RomanceTwo colleagues trade sharp insults and small kindnesses, and neither admits the visit is really about wanting to see the other.
IdentityThe joke about living on different planets turns on identity: each sizes up who the other really is, and both get it wrong.
What you'll learn
- Use fall for to describe romantic attraction
- Use straighten it out to resolve a mix-up
- Follow can't help but with a base verb
- Hear care, sales talk, and irony in context
Listen for
- in a day or two — liaison
- If you don't mind — elision
- on my toes — liaison
Mr. Kralik, it's true we're in the same room but we're not in the same planet.Her put-down: sharing a room does not mean sharing a mind, and she wants him to feel exactly how far apart they are.
It's amazing what one letter can do.He notices how fast a single letter changes her, from a sick woman who refuses a doctor to one promising to sell more goods than ever.
Well, it's difficult to explain a man like him to a man like you.She insists her admirer is a finer, more sensitive type than the man sitting in front of her, a compliment aimed at someone who is not in the room.
And when he opens it, there you are.His sales pitch for the wallet turns practical into romantic: the gift carries her letter and her photo, so she appears whenever he opens it.
Questions about this scene
Why does Kralik visit Klara while she's sick?
He apologizes for the intrusion and says he feels responsible for the shop family, but he also has nowhere else to be and keeps lingering — the visit is personal far more than it is professional.
Does Klara know who wrote her letter?
Nothing in the scene says she does. She reads it aloud, calls the writer tactful and sensitive, and treats him as someone distant, while the visitor sits listening without revealing a thing.
What is Klara's real illness?
She tells him she does not need a doctor because her trouble is psychological, then snaps when he calls it 'only psychological.' The letter that lifts her mood at once suggests the illness is about love, not medicine.
What does 'on her toes' mean when Klara says it?
It means alert and ready to act. She promises to be back in the shop and 'on her toes,' that is, focused and quick, ready to sell more goods than she ever sold before.
Is Kralik kind or mocking when he praises her way of expressing herself?
A bit of both. He calls himself the victim of her remark and says he cannot help but admire how she puts things — real appreciation wrapped inside a wounded joke.
The Shop Around the Corner · 19 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 16ruin ChristmasThe Staff Choose Christmas Gifts
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
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
Watching · 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 15 of 19 · about 14 min to go