Setting

The setting is difficult to determine because the story is more of a recollection and not set in one time or place. However, Beattie makes reference to time in ways like, "in recent years" and "she had a very profitable year selling real estate," Beaty, 207-208. Beattie switches back and forth from talking in recent times that Andrea and her husband are in, and also in the past when Andrea had an affair and previous homes she had taken the bowl to. The vague time and place in Beattie's story is efficient and works well because the main focus is on the bowl and what it symbolizes for Andrea, her relationship, and how she views her life. Beattie does provide details of homes that she has been in, but mostly based off of the area that Andrea places the bowl, "jonquils in a pitcher," "from coffee table to mahogany corner table," "chest," etc. Also, at the end of the story, the readers are aware that some "time [has] passed," showing that Andrea is ultimately left feeling alone with her bowl in the living room.

Characters

Andrea:
She is the main character, she is a real estate agent who has been married to her husband for several years: "In recent years, both of them had acquired many things to make up for all the lean years when they were graduate students, but now that they had been comfortable for quite a while, the pleasure of new possessions dwindled," Beaty, 207

Andrea's husband:
He is similar to Andrea, bored with his life, also likes possessions, also obsessed with a particular object: his camera. He is a stockbroker and "sometimes told people he was fortunate to be married to a woman who had such a fine esthetic sense and yet could also function in the real world," Beaty 208.


Mondo:
Andrea's dog who she sometimes brings to show homes if she thinks the buyers are dog lovers. He is also subtly compared to Andrea in the beginning of the story when he is happy and obsessed with his toy, similar to the excitement and happiness the bowl brings Andrea.


Lover:
He bought her material objects just as Andrea's husband did, except these things are listed as dainty objects, " the child's ebony-and-turquoise ring that fitted her little finger; the wooden box, long and thin, beautifully dovetailed, that she used to hold paperclips; the soft gray sweater with a pouch pocket..." Beaty, 209. He bought Andrea the bowl, and had asked her why she lived a "two-faced" life. Andrea chose not to be with him even though he made the first move toward her.

Plot Summary

Ann Beattie's short story, "Janus" begins by describing a bowl that the main character, Andrea uses when she sells homes. She is a real estate agent who is clearly obsessed with this bowl and she brings it to every show home and she thinks it's the main reason why she sells so many homes. As the story progresses, she becomes more obsessed with the bowl, and the readers find out that there are some clear issues between her and her husband. Their marriage seems long and dull and Andrea is obviously bored with their relationship. Beattie describes Andrea's anxiety about the bowl and explains a story about her forgetting it at one show home, and then reveals the information that Andrea had an affair with a "half-secret lover." The lover bought her the bowl and several other material objects, similar to her husband, but she ultimately chose her husband and the lover stopped talking to her. The story ends with time passing and Andrea spending nights alone in the living room staring at the bowl.