Janey

Janey is a young woman whose work in New York City is described as going well, though Joe Williams’s return shows how distance and changed circumstances have unsettled his connection to her. She is absent when he first seeks her out, and when they finally meet, their conversation does not restore the closeness he hoped to find.

Work and Life in New York City

Janey works in J. Ward Moorehouse’s advertising office. When Joe reaches the office by telephone, the person who answers identifies herself as the boss’s secretary and says Janey is away on business in the West. Her absence frustrates Joe’s attempt to consult her: he is considering whether to leave his unsettled life at sea for steady work ashore, and wonders whether her judgment might persuade him to do so.

On a later visit to Mommer, Joe hears that Janey is doing well in her work, but that living in New York City has changed her. The family also says that both girls are engaged, though the account does not clarify Janey’s own circumstances beyond this report. Joe tells them he plans to go to New York City to seek his second mate’s ticket and says he will look Janey up. He does not tell them that he is married to Della Matthews.

Joe’s Search for Her

After reaching New York City, Joe calls Janey from a cigar store. Her voice sounds stiff to him, and she says she is busy and cannot see him until the next day. He leaves the telephone booth unsure where to go, carrying Spanish shawls he bought for Janey and Della Matthews on his last trip. The gifts connect this reunion to his life at sea and to the people he has left behind, even as his hoped-for meeting is delayed.

When they do meet, Joe takes Janey to supper and a show. Their evening disappoints him: she talks in a manner he associates with other people and scolds him for cussing. The exchange makes their difference in manner more apparent than any renewed intimacy. Janey likes the shawls, and Joe is glad that she is doing well in New York City, but he never gets around to telling her about Della Matthews.

An Unresolved Connection

Joe’s pursuit of Janey gives her an important, if briefly depicted, place in his thinking. He considers asking her whether he should abandon the precarious life he calls a dog’s life and take steady work ashore; his decision is imagined as contingent on what she thinks. Yet the reunion offers no account of Janey advising him on that choice. Her absence on business, her reserved response to his call, and the unsatisfying evening all leave his hoped-for counsel and companionship out of reach.

The visit also exposes a division in what Joe shares with her. He brings gifts intended for both Janey and Della Matthews, but keeps his marriage to Della undisclosed. The narrative establishes Janey’s professional success and Joe’s continuing interest in her, while leaving her own view of their relationship largely unspoken. Their meeting ends without resolving either his wish for a different life or the distance between them.