About Janet
Janet presumably comes from our world and doesn’t show up at Chrestomanci Castle until well into the book, after Gwendolen has jumped worlds and thereby mixed up all her other "selves" in other worlds. Janet is the "Gwendolen" sent to Cat’s world, referred to by Gwendolen as her "replacement." Unmagical but just as sassy as Cat’s real sister, Janet’s appearance heralds the beginning of a change in Cat--and the beginning of Gwendolen’s very real plans to rule the world…any world that will have her. Janet seems like the sort of girl who would be a lot of fun to have as a sister...not at all like Gwendolen. While they certainly have some similarities--after all, Janet essentially is Gwendolen in another world--Janet takes that clever spunkiness and tempers it with humility and kindness. Unlike Gwendolen, she is not a witch, and is therefore completely unprepared to end up in a world filled with magic. She apparently freaks out just like one might expect upon waking up in a different world, but by the time Cat finds her, she is already much calmer and quick to throw in her wit. She may not know magic or Victorian-type clothing, but she manages to hold her own quite nicely, helping Cat keep the secret of what’s really happened in the midst of one mishap after another.
Unlike Cat, she is not cowed by Gwendolen at all, and though she admires Gwendolen’s ambition, Janet has no qualms about calling Gwendolen what she is: manipulative, spiteful, and selfish. This honesty, of course, alarms Cat to no end; but I think somewhere deep down he must realize that this girl who is not quite his sister in some ways knows Gwendolen much better than he does.
And Janet makes up for her lack of magic with a bit more insight into the human condition than Cat is willing to give her credit for. She almost immediately pegs both Chrestomanci and his wife Milly as powerful enchanters, and refuses to give up on this idea no matter how much Cat tries to shoot it down. Chrestomanci, she notes, always comes when he’s called -- which explains why the hedge wizards are so hesitant to say his name. And Milly must be a witch underneath that commonplace appearance, given how central she is to the people in the Castle and how quickly she notices that Janet and Cat have run away. Janet may not be able to cast a single spell, but she can sense powerful magic in a matter of minutes.
About Gwendolen's Shadow
For all their similarities, Janet seems more upset about being manipulated by Gwendolen than she’s willing to let on. Cat views her as being quite together for someone who’s just been thrown out of her world, but as competent as she is, Janet still bursts into tears when the maid Euphemia turns into a frog, and can’t help but seem hopelessly lost at times. She knows a lot more than Gwendolen academically, but constantly has to deal with her facts being a bit skewed for this world (Janet’s North America is Cat’s Atlantis, among other things). She’s used to pants and diaries and clever hiding places, not garters and pretty dresses and formal dinners. And as she begins to realize how much danger Cat is in, she worries about how dependent she is upon him, and what problems all this magic will lead him into. Where Gwendolen had little interest in anyone except in how they could advance her career, Janet seems sincerely concerned about Cat, even going to far as to suggest he return with her to her own world when things get particularly rough. Janet could have been just one more pawn in Gwendolen’s game; instead she’s a believable character with real-world faults but enough spunk and perseverance to be someone worth rooting for.
About Janet's Future
I always wondered what happens to Janet next. At the end of Charmed Life she is stuck in Cat’s world, and though she seems completely willing to accept that, it must be tough for her to get used to a world with magic, particularly since she herself isn’t magical. And then to become the ward of someone who is arguably the most magical person in any world…how does she deal with it? Is she bitter at all? What would happen if Janet ever got the chance to confront Gwendolen about everything? I hope that if Jones ever goes back to the post-Charmed Life world, she’ll tell us a bit more about what happens to Janet as well as the other kids.
