Amanda Cordero

Jackie Burr, Instructor

English 1010

May 26, 2015

Character Analysis of Janet in McKnight Malmar’s “The Storm”

            In McKnight Malmar’s “The Storm”, Janet plays the main character. The recently married, thirty-one year old is described as “childlike” and “immature, yet appealing”. In the middle of a forceful downpour, she returns home early from a visit with her ill sister anticipating to find her “comforting” husband, Ben, excited by her unexpected arrival, but instead finds herself in the secluded house alone. Encountering frightening events that seem to be intensifying, she longs for Ben’s company, meanwhile feeling unsure if whether she is hallucinating or in fact living a nightmare. Janet plays an obscure character burdened with loneliness, remorse, and terror illustrated through her constant uneasiness from beginning to end, portraying the irony brought about by twisted perceptions.           

Even the simplest actions and thoughts alone strongly pronounce Janet’s fright. Practically afraid of her own shadow, she wounds up shaken and traumatized by the end of the piece. A perfect example of her panic is when Malmar says, “Her quivering body stiffened like a drawn bow” (paragraph 73).  She obviously runs high on emotions, but manages her composure by taking a step back and retreating to where she’s most comfortable—the warm, well lit living room. Her fear of darkness develops from the first instant she walks through the front door into her own house. Turning on all the lights as she goes and turning up the heat on the thermostat demonstrates fear through the elements of cold and darkness. The jumpiness of her character is caused by an inner anxiety that is much deeper than the obvious wild storm taking place outside. “It took her a long minute to nerve herself to go down the steps and reach out into the darkness for the doorknob” (Paragraph 33). This statement symbolizes her hesitancy to step out into the “dark” world—out of her comfort zone—and into a happier life.  Seeking security in only the lightest of places, Janet remains a fragile, unfulfilled woman.

The leading attribute to spark her apprehension is the dread and pain caused by her feeling of loneliness. Her fear of being alone is drastically affecting every other aspect of her situation, and most importantly of her life as a whole. The squall that is wreaking havoc outside her door is practically harmless considering she has shelter. Yet, she’s terrified. Terrified, because “she had never felt so alone” (Paragraph 14) and “she found the aloneness intolerable” (Paragraph 26). Constantly wishing for someone’s company—anyone’s at all—Malmar adds in paragraph 25, “If only Ben would come home, if only she weren’t so alone”. “Alone and with the storm trying to batter its way in, she found it frightening to be so far away from other people” (Paragraph 7). Additionally found in the seventh paragraph, the author says, “She had thought nothing of the loneliness. It was perfect here—for two…she had not missed company other than Ben”. Janet’s desperate need for companionship, regardless of whom it’s with, is leaving her submerged in her own shadows, hiding behind the comfort of a loveless relationship.

Young hearted Janet wants nothing but security in her life. Unfortunately, she finds her false safe haven in the distant arms of her older husband, Ben. Full of remorse, she spends the whole story trying to convince herself of her own happiness.  All her life she has dreamt of having a cozy home and an affectionate husband who would come home to her at night and love her unconditionally. With such desire to marry, settling for an unfulfilling relationship was her solution. “The fact that she married at all still seemed a miracle to her” (paragraph 9). Afraid of losing the one person who would actually marry her, she holds on with a tight grip. Something is up with Ben, as he is frequently aggravated and consistently receiving awfully suspicious letters in the mail, from whom he will not tell. Yet, Janet pretends there is nothing off beam. An upsetting line in the short story discloses, “He was irritable, at times almost ugly. Their peaceful life together fell apart” (Paragraph 17). In paragraph 15, Malmar digs deep into her characters thoughts, and reveals the regret she holds in her heart through her self-persuading beliefs. She says,

But he was a good husband.  She sighed unconsciously, not knowing it was because of youth and romance missed.  She repeated it to herself, firmly, as she sipped her coffee.  He was a good husband.  Suppose he was ten years older than she, and a little set in his ways; a little – perhaps – dictatorial at times, and moody.  He had given her what she thought she wanted, security and a home of her own; if security were not enough, she could not blame him for it.

Although she’s keeping it hidden behind a curtain of denial, she obviously regrets the man she chose. The writer also describes in detail the plants that Ben had forgotten to water; disregarding the fact they were meaningful to her. She labels them as being droopy, “shrunken and pale”, merely existing in nasty soil (Paragraph 12). These particular flowers are significant to the characters, as they describe her view of their relationship. Ben, obviously unaffected by the lack of connection, is causing his deprived wife to feel broken and worn out.

This particular story begins with Janet absorbed by the overwhelming danger of darkness and in quest of comfort and protection from her perfect husband in her perfect home. By the end of the story, roles swap. She then comes to the realization that she has to face her fears, as she may have been blindsided as to where the true danger is really coming from—her good husband. The most empowering sentence is the last one, where the short story author says, “The blessed wind snatched the front door from her and flung it wide, and she was out in the safe, dark shelter of the storm.”  The irony of the real threat being used as a safety blanket until the absolute last statement in the story is empowering, while it says wonders about the character of the mysterious Janet.

            Malmar’s short fiction about Janet is extraordinarily insightful; it presents a representation of a character that must resign themselves from an unhappy life by eradicating the horror of the unknown. She uses the main character’s development to not only show their uncertainties, but to portray real life doubts. The metaphorical usage of lightness and darkness exchanging roles conveys the distorted reality of fear and assurance. The ending of  “The Storm” brings the reader a sense of relief thanks to Janet’s long-awaited, yet unexpected, release into freedom to give her the chance to make her life what she wants it to be. She is frightful, regretful, and lonely, but set free at last.

 

Work Cited

Malmar, McKnight. “The Storm”. Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense. 5th ed. Ed. Laurence Perrinne. San Diego: Harcourt, 2000. 220-229. Print.