Oh, I'm sorry to keep you waiting.The Shop Around the Corner · 1940 — Chapter 19 of 19 · 4'18" · B1
Klara Confesses to Kralik, Explained: swept me off my feet
Klara's confession comes with a catch: she says she fell for Kralik, while insisting she's happily engaged to another man. "I just couldn't take my eyes off of you," she admits, then Kralik reveals her fiancé already came to see him.
What happens
On Christmas Eve, Klara visits Kralik, who shows her a bracelet and has her try it on, so she assumes he has a girlfriend. She then nervously confesses she fell for him when she first came to work there. Kralik reveals that her fiancé Popkin came to see him, and tells her she'll soon be Mrs. Popkin — congratulating her as if nothing had changed.
Listen for
swept me off my feetget mixed upgo into thattreat someone like a dog
00:00 / 04:18Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Phrase of the scene
swept me off my feet
to make someone fall completely in love
诺瓦克小姐对克拉利克坦白，说在仓库那几周，他其实本可以让她彻底动心。
The first time we danced, she swept me off my feet.
Also in this scene
- get mixed up
confused or thrown into disorder
- go into that
to discuss something in detail
- treat someone like a dog
to treat someone with no respect at all
Everything marked in this scene
39 notes across 84 lines
Oh, that's alright, no hurry.I decided to follow your advice after all.Look, why don't you try it on?Yeah, come on, I'd like to see what it looks like on a girl.elision
Yeah, come on, I'd like to see what it looks like on a girl.- Are those real diamonds? - They're pretty near.Oh, my!Oh, yes, it probably isn't easy for you to imagine anyone like a man of my type-- Oh, Mr. Kralik, don't let's start all over again.It's Christmas, and I'd like to be friends with you.Do you mind if I tell you something?No, not at all.confused or thrown into disorder
I got psychologically mixed up.- You don't say? - Yes.I found myself looking at you again and again.I just couldn't take my eyes off of you.And all the time I kept saying, to myself "Kiara Novak, what on earth is the matter with you?Now, here comes the paradox. I found myself falling for you.find oneself doing something
Now, here comes the paradox. I found myself falling for you.liaison
Now, here comes the paradox. I found myself falling for you.And very much so.At least it looks that way.to make someone fall completely in love
were moments in the stockroom when you could have swept me off of my feet.could have for an unreal past
were moments in the stockroom when you could have swept me off of my feet.to treat someone with no respect at all
And when she wanted to arouse a man's interest she treated him like a dog.Oh, well, that's all forgotten now.By the way, is it serious?weak form
By the way, is it serious?Well, as a matter of fact, I can tell you, it will happen.to discuss something in detail
Well, we won't go into that.Uh, well, I guess I might as well tell you.You shouldn't have told him who I am.shouldn't have for a past regret
You shouldn't have told him who I am.elision
You shouldn't have told him who I am.Apparently, he didn't believe it when you wrote that I meant nothing to you.I can't get it into my head. Coming to see you?Well, now, listen, I've straightened everything out.You.. In a little while you'll be Mrs. Popkin.a tag question for confirmation
That's the name, isn't it? Popkin.Klara Confesses to Kralik, explained
What's really going on
She finally says the words she has avoided for months, but she protects herself while doing it: "I just couldn't take my eyes off of you," she admits, then immediately adds that she's "very happily engaged" — a status she undercuts herself with "At least it looks that way." Meanwhile, the man across from her knows more than she does: the person she has been corresponding with is him, and he has already met Popkin. His calm answers — "He came to see me," "Your fiance" — and his cheerful "I congratulate you" turn her confession into a test she doesn't know she's taking. The comedy is that they keep circling the same truth without either naming it.
Theme
RomanceTwo people confess and deflect at once, circling a love they can't quite admit they share.
SecretsKlara confesses her feelings while hiding behind her engagement, unaware that the man listening already knows her letters.
What you'll learn
- Use fall for someone to describe developing feelings.
- Understand sweep someone off their feet as romantic attraction.
- Use might as well to soften a decision.
- Hear as a matter of fact as firm emphasis.
Listen for
- what it looks like — elision
- falling for you — liaison
- By the way — weak form
- shouldn't have — elision
I just couldn't take my eyes off of you.Her way of admitting attraction without saying the word "love" — she kept looking at him from the start, and couldn't stop.
It's Christmas, and I'd like to be friends with you.A peace offering on a holiday: whatever the office rivalry was, she wants to reset it as friendliness, not romance.
After all, I'm very happily engaged.Her shield while confessing: she frames herself as unavailable, but the line is delivered so flatly it invites doubt.
Yes, but instead of licking my hand, you barked.Her joke about his reaction to being treated coldly: she expected him to be grateful, and instead he talked back.
Oh, well, that's all forgotten now.An offer to bury the past: whatever happened between them, she says it can be dropped and they can start over.
Questions about this scene
Why does Klara confess and then say she's engaged?
She is torn: she wants Kralik to know how she feels, but admitting it plainly feels dangerous, so she uses her engagement as a shield and a way out.
Why is Klara shocked to be called Mrs. Popkin?
Because she has been treating her engagement as a formality. Hearing it stated as a fact — and from Kralik, who met Popkin — forces her to face that the wedding is real.
Does Kralik know he is Klara's pen pal?
Yes. He reveals that Popkin came to see him about her letters, and he mentions what she wrote. He is testing her without saying it outright.
Is Klara being honest with Kralik?
Partly. She genuinely confesses her feelings, but the "happily engaged" line is armor — she even undercuts it by adding that it only "looks that way."
What does "treat someone like a dog" mean?
To treat a person coldly or badly, as if they don't matter. In Klara's story, the French actress did it on purpose to make a man interested.
The Shop Around the Corner · 19 chapters
All chapters →
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
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
Watching · Chapter 19swept me off my feetKlara Confesses to KralikThat's all 19 chapters of this film