Janey is a young Irish girl who frequently stays with Deborah and Hugh when her father is in jail. Helpless, young, and pretty, Janey is the object of Hugh’s affections and Deborah’s jealousy. Janey is primarily described through the lens of Hugh’s desire and only speaks when she sleepily mumbles to Deborah that her father is in jail and that Hugh is working the night shift.
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Janey Character Timeline in Life in the Iron Mills
The timeline below shows where the character Janey appears in Life in the Iron Mills. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Life in the Iron Mills
...small noise behind her and sees that hidden in a pile of torn coats is Janey, a young Irish girl from the neighborhood. Janey says she’s staying the night here because...
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...all the more distasteful to him. Bitterly, Deborah thinks about the way Hugh obviously prefers Janey, the young, helpless girl with dark blue eyes. In the midst of Deborah’s painful thoughts,...
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When they return, Janey and Hugh’s father are both asleep, though Hugh’s father has clearly been drinking since Deborah...
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...all.” Exhausted, Hugh ignores Deborah, but she persists, asking if he would take her and Janey with him if he had the money to escape the city. Sobbing hysterically, she thrusts...
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...responds that “It is best,” and tells her to say goodbye to Hugh’s father and Janey for him.
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