Klara Novak (Miss Novak) Quotes in The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

Alfred Kralik: There might be a lot we don't know about each other. You know, people seldom go to the trouble of scratching the surface of things to find the inner truth.

Klara Novak (Miss Novak): Well I really wouldn't care to scratch your surface, Mr. Kralik, because I know exactly what I'd find. Instead of a heart, a hand-bag. Instead of a soul, a suitcase. And instead of an intellect, a cigarette lighter... which doesn't work.

[Alfred Kralik has just disclosed to Klara Novak that he is her anonymous pen pal]

Alfred Kralik: Are you disappointed?

Klara Novak (Miss Novak): Psychologically, I'm very confused... But personally, I don't feel bad at all.

Klara Novak (Miss Novak): All my knowledge came from books, and I'd just finished a novel about a glamorous French actress from the Comedie Francaise. That's the theater in France. When she wanted to arouse a man's interest, she treated him like a dog.

Alfred Kralik: Yes, well, you treated me like a dog.

Klara Novak (Miss Novak): Yes, but instead of licking my hand, you barked.

Klara Novak (Miss Novak): [In her letter to Alfred] : Oh, my Dear Friend, my heart was trembling as I walked into the post office, and there you were, lying in Box 237. I took you out of your envelope and read you, read you right there.