Ann Beattie's Janus
Beattie’s Bowls Symbolizes Unsuccessful Attempt to Live in Two World
Jan 17, 2009
Ann Beattie’s protagonist, a real estate agent named Andrea, seems to have a knack for selling homes, a success she bases on her ability to position a bowl in the right place in the house. In addition to her successful career in real estate, she has a husband and financial security. Despite all of this, she seems to be a little unhappy and has an unusual attachment to a piece of potter.
Janus, the Roman god with two faces, is the perfect title for this short story because Andrea is trying to reconcile two worlds. Later, readers learn that the bowl that she is attached to was a gift from a man with whom she was having an affair. The bowl, which is always empty, symbolizes Andrea’s inability to live her current life while holding on to the past.
In “Janus,” the bowl doesn’t seem to have any particular quality that draws individuals to it. In fact, the bowl is an oddity and Beattie compares it to “a mutt who has no reason to suspect he might be funny” (64). When readers think of mutts, they think of dogs with no pedigree, with no distinctive qualities. However, mutts are so ugly that they’re cute. This bowl, though not particularly pretty, is admired by those who see it.
Andrea attributes her real estate success to the bowl’s ability to appeal to various groups. She says the “bowl…was both subtle and noticeable—a paradox of a bowl” because people who like high art or country décor admire the bowl (65). The bowl’s skill different people’s attention contrasts with Andreas attempt to reconcile two worlds. Because she doesn’t make a choice, she is empty.
At one point in their relationship, Andrea’s lover tells her that she has to make a decision. He tells her “why be two-faced…he asked her what made her think she could have it both ways” (68). Andrea’s lover, unlike her, needs her whole body. He wants her to make a decision to be with her or not. Because she wants to continue living in two worlds, the lover leaves her.
Throughout the story, the bowl is empty. When Andrea displays it in the homes she’s showing, it sits empty with nothing else on the table. She doesn’t even put anything in the bowl when at home. She describes it as “perfect: the world cut in half, deep and smoothly empty” (68). By leaving the bowl empty, Andrea demonstrates the hold the past has on her. It means a little bit of her lover is still present. Placing something in the bowl symbolizes that she’s moved on, decided to reside in one world.
Ann Beattie’s “Janus” proves that an individual can’t always have it all. Andrea holds on to the bowl, a symbol of her affair. Instead of bringing her happiness, the bowl creates an internal rift. With all of her success, she is hot happy. This short story proves that in order to be happy, letting go is important.
Source:
Beattie, Ann. “Janus.” The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. 4th edition. 1990.
