Symbolism in Janus
4
Jonathan Whidden
English 1900B
Ian McAdam
September 29th,2012
Symbolism in Janus
“The bowl was just a bowl”. (Beattie 455) In the short story “Janus” writer Anne Beattie uses a
simple bowl to be the central focus of symbolism in the story. The bowl can be interpreted to mean or
symbolize many different things. The bowl belongs to the protagonist of the story Andrea, a successful
real estate agent who is married to her husband of many years. It has been argued that the bowl
symbolizes everything from the life that Andrea lives or the world that Andrea lives in. Though there
are strong arguments for these arguments among many others, I believe the strongest evidence of what
the bowl symbolizes is a personality or traits of a character that repeats itself throughout the story. This
character is not so coincidentally the title of the short story “Janus”. In the following essay I will argue
that the bowl symbolizes an ancient god by the name of “Janus” and all of his traits powers or
attributes. Beattie uses the bowl to symbolize all of the traits of the ancient god thru the life of our
protagonist Andrea.
To begin we must examine who this god was believed to be so we can relate it to the story.
“Janus is the Roman god of gates and doors, beginnings and endings, and hence represented with a
double-faced head, each looking in opposite directions. He was worshipped at the beginning of the
harvest time, planting, marriage, birth, and other types of beginnings, especially the beginnings of
important events in a person 's life. Janus also represents the transition between primitive life and
civilization, between the countryside and the city, peace and war, and the growing-up of young
people.”(Janus) 4
As mentioned above, it is no coincidence that Beattie chose this title. The two faces Janus the
god has is a symbolism in itself, it symbolizes deceit as I interpret
Jonathan Whidden
English 1900B
Ian McAdam
September 29th,2012
Symbolism in Janus
“The bowl was just a bowl”. (Beattie 455) In the short story “Janus” writer Anne Beattie uses a
simple bowl to be the central focus of symbolism in the story. The bowl can be interpreted to mean or
symbolize many different things. The bowl belongs to the protagonist of the story Andrea, a successful
real estate agent who is married to her husband of many years. It has been argued that the bowl
symbolizes everything from the life that Andrea lives or the world that Andrea lives in. Though there
are strong arguments for these arguments among many others, I believe the strongest evidence of what
the bowl symbolizes is a personality or traits of a character that repeats itself throughout the story. This
character is not so coincidentally the title of the short story “Janus”. In the following essay I will argue
that the bowl symbolizes an ancient god by the name of “Janus” and all of his traits powers or
attributes. Beattie uses the bowl to symbolize all of the traits of the ancient god thru the life of our
protagonist Andrea.
To begin we must examine who this god was believed to be so we can relate it to the story.
“Janus is the Roman god of gates and doors, beginnings and endings, and hence represented with a
double-faced head, each looking in opposite directions. He was worshipped at the beginning of the
harvest time, planting, marriage, birth, and other types of beginnings, especially the beginnings of
important events in a person 's life. Janus also represents the transition between primitive life and
civilization, between the countryside and the city, peace and war, and the growing-up of young
people.”(Janus) 4
As mentioned above, it is no coincidence that Beattie chose this title. The two faces Janus the
god has is a symbolism in itself, it symbolizes deceit as I interpret
Cited: 1. Beattie, Ann. “Janus.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Allison Booth, Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2010. 453-456. 2. "Janus." Encyclopedia Mythica. 2012. Encyclopedia Mythica Online. 01 Oct. 2012 <www.pantheon.org/articles/j/janus.html>.