Author Ann Beattie’s short story, “Janus,” is a story about a successful real estate agent named Andrea. She believes that her ceramic bowl is the reason behind her success. The bowl seems to draw attention from buyers, usually leaving them speechless. In Andrea’s eyes, the bowl is perfect. Her husband doesn’t examine the bowl closely and simply just calls it pretty. Throughout the story, Andrea realizes how the first time she saw the bowl was with the lover she was having an affair with. Her lover asked her to choose between him and her husband. Unable to decide, Andrea’s lover left her. The central idea of this story is that a person cannot live their current life happily while holding on to the past. The characters in “Janus” are the key element to making the central idea clear. The protagonist of “Janus” is the deceptive, intelligent, unhappy, and reflective Andrea. She is dishonest to her clients because she refuses to tell them where she got the bowl from. Her deceptive techniques to sell houses shows her intelligence. In addition to her successful career, she has a husband and financial security. However, even with all the perks, she can’t seem to be happy with her life. Her unhappiness emphasizes her unusual attachment with the bowl. Andrea’s character unfolds a lot about her past, making her a round character. Knowing a great deal about her, she still remains static throughout the story and continues to be highly attached to her bowl. Her husband and lover, on the other hand, are flat characters. They both stay unnamed and don't reveal much about them at all within the story. The antagonist of the story would be her lover since he is the one who bought her the bowl. Also, he put Andrea in sadness by forcing her to decide between him and her husband. Her lover is the reason she is living her life obsessed over a piece of pottery. The conflicts in the story are caused by the personalities of the charac