why don't you for suggestions
Why don't you go in, Kralik?The Shop Around the Corner · 1940 — Chapter 11 of 19 · 2'41" · B2
Kralik's Blind Date Is Miss Novak, Explained: had enough bad news for today
The surface argument is about whether to deliver the note and let Miss Novak wait. Underneath, Kralik is stalling because he already dreads the answer: "if she's lovely, it'll just make it more difficult." He treats the date as bad news before it even begins.
What happens
Kralik sits in a café waiting for the woman he has been writing to for months. Too nervous to look himself, he sends Pirovitch to check whether she is there. Pirovitch spots the book — Anna Karenina — and the red carnation, then realizes the woman is Miss Novak, the clerk Kralik argues with every day at the shop.
Listen for
do someone a favora fine time for somethinghad enough bad news for todaydunk
00:00 / 02:41Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Tap a line to replay it
Phrase of the scene
had enough bad news for today
already received as much bad news as one can take today
克拉利克不肯听皮罗维奇描述那位姑娘的长相，理由是再看一眼只会让自己更难受，于是说 I've had enough bad news for today。
Sorry, I've had enough bad news for today, so don't tell me any more.
Also in this scene
- do someone a favor
to do something kind for someone
- a fine time for something
a sarcastic way to say this is the worst possible moment
- dunk
把食物蘸进饮料里再吃
Everything marked in this scene
21 notes across 50 lines
liaison
Why don't you go in, Kralik?I really think you should go in and keep your date.to do something kind for someone
Now, Pirovitch, just do me a favor and deliver my note.already received as much bad news as one can take today
Uh, if she's bad looking, I've had enough bad news for today and if she's lovely, it'll just make it more difficult.Uh, if she's bad looking, I've had enough bad news for today and if she's lovely, it'll just make it more difficult.if clause with a result clause
Uh, if she's bad looking, I've had enough bad news for today and if she's lovely, it'll just make it more difficult.Let me see. Just a minute.present continuous for an action in progress
I can't see her face. She's sitting behind a clothes rack.liaison
There's a cup of coffee on the table.- Uh-huh. - Kralik, she is dunking.- Well, why shouldn't she dunk? - Alright.Now, Kralik, you must admit, uh Kiara's a very good-looking girl.elision
Now, Kralik, you must admit, uh Kiara's a very good-looking girl.And personally, I've always found her a very likeable girl.a sarcastic way to say this is the worst possible moment
Yeah, well, this is a fine time to talk about Miss Novak. Now..Well, if you don't like Miss Novak I can tell you right now, you won't like that girl.shall I for asking what to do
...shall I give the note to the waiter now?Well, what do you want to do, let the poor girl wait?For the last six months she's fought with me every day.I know. My misfortune.Kralik's Blind Date Is Miss Novak, explained
What's really going on
Right away he insists he doesn't want to know what she looks like, and the reason is fear: "if she's bad looking, I've had enough bad news for today and if she's lovely, it'll just make it more difficult." Either outcome is a loss, because the pen pal has become the one bright thing in his life. When the description settles on Miss Novak, the disbelief is real — "What, Miss Novak of the shop?" — since the woman writing those warm letters can't be the one he fights with daily. Then comes the line that turns the screw, "Oh, why shouldn't Miss Novak wait for me?": after six months of quarrels, he now has a reason to make her wait. The letters that were a comfort are suddenly a trap, and he can't un-know it.
Theme
RomanceThe man trading barbs with Miss Novak is secretly her devoted correspondent, so love arrives in the person he least expects.
IdentityA blind date reveals that the stranger and the office rival are one woman, splitting Kralik between two pictures of her.
What you'll learn
- Use keep your date in the same situation
- Hear bad news as pressure, not small talk
- Catch who the line is aimed at
Listen for
- Why don't you — liaison
- a cup of coffee — liaison
- must admit — elision
Uh, if she's bad looking, I've had enough bad news for today and if she's lovely, it'll just make it more difficult.He sees no winning outcome: an ugly date only adds to a rotten day, and a lovely one makes walking away harder.
Well, if you don't like Miss Novak I can tell you right now, you won't like that girl.The warning is that the woman in the café and the Miss Novak he dislikes are one and the same.
Oh, why shouldn't Miss Novak wait for me?After months of daily fights, he suddenly has a reason to let her sit and wait, and he uses it.
But still, she wrote those letters, my friend.The reminder is that, whatever she is to him by day, she is also the woman who wrote him those letters.
Questions about this scene
Why does Kralik have Pirovitch look at his date instead of looking himself?
He is afraid of what he will see. If she is ugly, he has had enough bad news for today; if she is lovely, the meeting only gets harder. A friend's description keeps him from facing the moment himself.
Why is Kralik upset that his pen pal turns out to be Miss Novak?
Because she is the person he clashes with at work every day. The letters felt like a different woman, so learning they came from his daily rival makes the comfort he drew from them feel like a joke at his expense.
Does Kralik actually like Miss Novak?
When she is described as good-looking and likeable, he dodges and mocks the timing, yet he still will not let her be stood up. His refusal to simply walk away says more than his complaints about her.
What is Kralik waiting for at the café?
A blind date with the woman he has been exchanging letters with. The meeting was arranged by mail, so the only things identifying her are a copy of Anna Karenina and a red carnation used as a bookmark.
The Shop Around the Corner · 19 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 12instead of a heart, a handbagKralik and Novak Meet at the Cafe
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
Watching · 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 11 of 19 · about 37 min to go