of cream and seemed to glow no matter what light it was placed in. Something about the colors and their random placement suggested motion.

Andrea is married to a nice guy who is successful. Her husband, a stockbroker, thinks the bowl is ‘‘pretty’’ but pays it no special attention. He no longer takes particular pleasure in the possessions they have acquired ''to make up for all the lean years when they were graduate students.”  Nothing more is really known about her marriage. Obviously, they have a strong connection. Her life seems secure in every way. Despite all of this, she seems to be a little unhappy and has an unusual attachment to this bowl.

Throughout the story, the bowl is empty. When Andrea displays it in the homes that she is showing, it sits empty with nothing else on the table. She does not even put anything in the bowl when she is at home. She describes it as “perfect: the world cut in half, deep and smoothly empty.

At night, Andrea would get up from bed and stare at the bowl. Then, finally, in her thoughts, the reader learns the truth about the bowl. She was not alone at the craft fair when the bowl was purchased. Her lover purchased the bowl for her. He had bought her other things, but this was the most special to her. He also said that she should stop being so two-faced, end her marriage, and live with him. The lover finally gives up. 

The Title of the Story

Calling Andrea two-faced and telling her that why should she think that she can have it both ways is the trigger for the title of the story. The name Janus comes from the Roman god with two faces. He is the Roman god of doorways and archways, after whom the month of January is named. Often depicted as a double-faced head, he was a deity of beginnings and ambiguity. The title fits the story since the protagonist is unable to make up her mind. She tries to live with the best of both worlds.  

The bowl, which is always empty, symbolizes Andrea’s inability to choose. Because she wants to continue living in two worlds, the lover leaves her. 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 has moved on and decided to reside in one world.

With all of her success, she is not happy. The moral of the story proves that in order to be happy, letting go is important.

One of the themes in "Janus" is that of aesthetics. Most successful authors have a personal theory of aesthetics, a philosophical theory that describes the nature of beauty. As Cambridge Dictionary Online puts it: "the formal study of art, especially in relation to the idea of beauty." Dictionary.com offers a more elaborate and revealing definition of aesthetics:

1.
the branch of philosophy dealing with such notions as the beautiful, the ugly, the sublime, the comic, etc., as applicable to the fine arts, with a view to establishing the meaning and validity of critical judgments concerning works of art, and the principles underlying or justifying such judgments.
2.
the study of the mind and emotions in relation to the sense of beauty.

Ann Beattie is a minimalist, and since minimalism in literature opposes the traditional mimetic view of literature--that literature conveys divine truths that human hearts desire but can't find on their own without the inspired help of poets/writers (Aristotle, Sydney)--Beattie was heavily criticized by those looking unfavorably upon the new style of minimalism. Therefore, one of the themes that pro-minimalist critics find in "Janus" is a thematic statement of Beattie's theory of aesthetics.

This view equates the bowl with Beattie's minimalist style: it is perfect though not obtrusive and, yes, perhaps overshadowed by other more splendid bowls, yet it has dazzling qualities that catch the eye and hold the attention and beg to be studied, like the surprising flecks of sparkling color in the glaze of the bowl. This theme shows that Beattie's theory of aesthetics is the epitome of the "less is more" theory.