Oh, no! No, you can't! I-I'm expecting somebody.The Shop Around the Corner · 1940 — Chapter 12 of 19 · 5'48" · B2
Kralik and Novak Meet at the Cafe, Explained: instead of a heart, a handbag
Two coworkers run into each other at a cafe, each waiting for a mysterious correspondent. The small talk curdles fast: "And I'll thank you not to be sarcastic" lands, and what should be a polite evening turns into a duel neither will lose.
What happens
Klara Novak and Alfred Kralik, clerks at the same Budapest shop, arrive at a cafe for separate appointments, neither knowing the other is the pen pal they are waiting for. What begins as a request for a spare chair becomes a fight; one of them sneers, the other snaps back, and the evening ends with an insult about being an insignificant clerk.
Listen for
I'll thank you not to be sarcasticgo to the trouble of scratching the surfaceinstead of a heart, a handbagmake fun of
00:00 / 05:48Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Phrase of the scene
instead of a heart, a handbag
a mocking figure that replaces a human quality with an object
诺瓦克小姐被克拉利克惹火，于是回敬一串排比，用 instead of a heart, a handbag 起头，把他一句句拆开，说他的心是手提包、灵魂是行李箱、头脑是坏打火机。
She summed up the cold businessman at a glance: instead of a heart, a handbag.
Also in this scene
- I'll thank you not to be sarcastic
a polite but pointed way of telling someone to stop
- go to the trouble of scratching the surface
to make the effort to look beneath the surface
- make fun of
取笑、拿某人开玩笑
Everything marked in this scene
31 notes across 98 lines
He probably should be here any minute.weak form
He probably should be here any minute.You can imagine, the man must've come in taken one look at her, said, "Phooey!"Oh, listen, you have nothing to worry about.Well, quite a coincidence. I had an appointment here, too.Why, you haven't seen Mr. Pirovitch by any chance?liaison
Why, you haven't seen Mr. Pirovitch by any chance?do you mind if for permission
- Do you mind if I sit down? - Yes, I do.elision
- Do you mind if I sit down? - Yes, I do.And I'll thank you not to be sarcastic.Well, I congratulate you. I wish you good luck.I didn't know you went in for high literature.You know, people seldom go to the trouble of scratching the surface of things to find the inner truth.Well, I really wouldn't care to scratch your surface, Mr. Kralik because I know exactly what I'd find.Well, that's very nicely put.I'm only trying to pay you a compliment.Are you deliberately trying to spoil my evening?Why do you want to do me harm? Why do you hate me so?present perfect with an infinitive of result
Well, why should I? What've you done to make me love you?It reminds me of a girl out of a job.And I'd like to take this opportunity, Miss Novak to inform you that I don't walk like a duck and I'm not bowlegged.Well, I have information to the contrary.How would you like it if I started making remarks about how red your hands are?may for concession with but
You may have very beautiful thoughts but you certainly hide them.As far as your actions are concerned you're cold and snippy like an old maid and you're gonna have a tough time getting a man to fall in love with you.As far as your actions are concerned you're cold and snippy like an old maid and you're gonna have a tough time getting a man to fall in love with you.have a tough time doing something
As far as your actions are concerned you're cold and snippy like an old maid and you're gonna have a tough time getting a man to fall in love with you.As far as your actions are concerned you're cold and snippy like an old maid and you're gonna have a tough time getting a man to fall in love with you.Why, I could show you letters that would open your eyes.They're written by a type of man so far superior to you it isn't even funny.Kralik and Novak Meet at the Cafe, explained
What's really going on
Both are here for the same reason and neither knows it: this quarrel is between two people who are, anonymously, already in love. The literary name-dropping isn't small talk; each is quietly taking the other's measure. "You know, people seldom go to the trouble of scratching the surface of things to find the inner truth," one of them says — which is exactly the mistake they are both making about each other. The answer is the scene's cruelest line: "Instead of a heart, a handbag. Instead of a soul, a suitcase." The wit is real and so is the hurt; underneath the insults is an attraction neither will admit.
Theme
RomanceTwo secret pen pals quarrel face to face, with love hiding behind every insult.
PrideNeither will bend first; each barb is a way to save face and wound the other.
What you'll learn
- Use go in for to show interest.
- Catch the estimating tone of what amounts to.
- Use make fun of for teasing.
- Hear politeness hiding sarcasm and self-defense.
Listen for
- should be here any minute — weak form
- by any chance — liaison
- Do you mind if I sit down — elision
You know, people seldom go to the trouble of scratching the surface of things to find the inner truth.The film's key idea in one line: people rarely bother to look beneath appearances. Here it doubles as a complaint that she has misread him.
You may have very beautiful thoughts but you certainly hide them.A backhanded compliment: he allows that she may have depth, then says she never lets anyone see it.
There are many things you don't know about me, Mr. Kralik.Her warning that he has misjudged her — truer than she knows, since she is the pen pal he is waiting for.
Well, I really wouldn't care to scratch your surface, Mr. Kralik because I know exactly what I'd find.She turns his metaphor back on him: no need to dig, because she claims she already knows how empty he is.
Questions about this scene
Why are Klara and Kralik both at the cafe?
Each has a blind date with an anonymous pen pal. Neither realizes the person they are waiting for is the coworker already sitting across from them.
Who is Klara really waiting for?
The anonymous correspondent she has been writing to. That correspondent turns out to be Kralik himself, which is why the scene is so ironic.
Is Kralik being unfair to Klara?
Both give as good as they get. He starts it by sitting down uninvited and mocking her, but she fires back just as hard, so neither is innocent.
What does "old maid" mean here?
A dated, insulting term for an unmarried woman past the usual age. Kralik uses it to wound Klara by implying no man will ever want her.
Does Klara like Kralik at this point?
She insists she doesn't, and so does he. Each says they don't want the other's love, which is exactly what the film wants us to doubt.
The Shop Around the Corner · 19 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 13kept in strictest confidenceMatuschek Confesses His Jealousy
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
Watching · 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 12 of 19 · about 31 min to go