In Janus

In Janus, Andreas lover buys her a bowl at a crafts fair. It was his idea that when he could not be there to hold her hand she could hold her own.(16) Throughout this story Andrea becomes attached to the bowl because it reminds her of her lover. The author takes the audience through the many stages of Andreas love affair. In Janus Ann Beattie uses a bowl as a symbol of love. In the beginning of the story, Andrea views the bowl as perfect. She is excited about her new love. Perhaps it was not what youd select if you faced a shelf of bowls, and not the sort of thing that would inevitably attract a lot of attention at a crafts fair. Yet it had real presence.(1) Andreas perfect love is not something people agree with and they simply choose not to see it. She wants to make the bowl blend in with the objects around it. The bowl was not at all ostentatious, or even so noticeable that anyone would suspect that it had been put in place deliberately. (4) Andrea is careful where she is seen with her lover. No one would ever suspect him. The bowl is placed on the coffee table in her home. She didnt keep it carefully wrapped (although she transported it that way, in a box).(6) Andrea is careless with the bowl in the comfort of her home, however in public she is extremely careful and wraps it in a box. This is how Andrea must be with her lover. In their secret places they can let loose and show their love for each other. In public they must keep this love concealed. Andrea wants the bowl to be empty at all times. She asks her husband not to drop his house key in the bowl. The emptiness in the bowl is the empty space in her heart where the love she once had for her husband used to be. The bowl (her lover) is taking that place. Andrea does not want her husband in it.