Janet Carter, known in the human world as Miranda Marks and originally known as Janet of Caughterha, is the stepmother of Gillian Marks, the wife of Cliff Marks the mother of Amandine and by extension the grandmother of October Daye and August Torquill.
About[]
Appearance[]
"... this utterly human woman, with her golden hair and her eyes like blue heather growing in the Scottish hills, with her frizzy braid and the freckles across the bridge of her nose..."[1]
May remarks that Janet looked disturbingly enough like Toby for Cliff to be attracted to her.
Personality[]
Janet is hostile towards Faerie and towards the purebloods especially. She is also hostile towards October, because she is worried October will try to take Gillian back, however feels remorse for elbowing Toby out of Gillian's life. She had been unaware that Toby had no clue about her true heritage as her grandmother and had assumed that Toby removed Gillian's fae blood as an apology to her.
Abilities[]
Until Maeve returns and frees her from her curse, Janet cannot age and cannot die from anything - and judging from the goblin-fruit plants in the Mysterious House, Janet may be immune to the negative effects of goblin-fruit. Maeve's curse had factored into the healing of the Dóchas Sidhe line she started and their susceptibility to transformation magic, as Janet is Amandine's mother. She is also able to use marshwater charms and herb pouches that can cause serious allergic reactions to any Fae.
Biography[]
Janet was born as the eldest daughter of a landholder in Scotland. Because her father had a son to leave his lands to, he didn't have to marry Janet off to anyone, and could afford to love her and spoil her and keep her at home. He set aside a patch of farmland and forest as her dowry, called Caughterha, that she would get to keep if she never married. The fae also recognized a good piece of land, and anchored a knowe there by the river, and sent word out that no human could set foot in Caughterha.
Janet, naturally, didn't follow the advice. She walked to the land she considered hers and met Tam Lin. The two of them fell in love, even to the point where they conceived a child, and Tam Lin told her that he belonged to the Fae, and said that he would be sacrificed in Maeve's next Ride. After introducing her to Titania, Eira Rosynhwyr told Janet how to break the Ride and free Tam Lin, and Janet did, though at the cost of her and Tam Lin's baby due to the multiple transformations she sustained. This forced Maeve to stand in as a sacrifice, but not before she cursed Janet to live out as immortal until they returned. In the process, she would forever be known as a traitor in Faerie, as the one who lead to Maeve's loss.
Despite saving his life, Tam Lin broke his promise and left her, and Janet thought the Fae owed her for what she suffered. Oberon took her into his service and his confidence, and after too much wine, the two of them went to bed together. Although it was consensual, both of them knew that it shouldn't have happened: but it did, and Oberon's youngest child, Amandine was born, meant to be named after the almond trees of Janet's father. Keeping Janet had infuriated Titania as she saw her as a homewrecker after Maeve was lost.
Janet went into hiding - having been promised a knowe that she can hide in when her age and her looks start being questioned and eventually resurfaced as Miranda, hoping to be close to Amandine and October, though it was unclear she was aware of August's existence. When October had disappeared, Janet assumed that Toby had ran away from her responsibilities the same way Amandine did, unaware that she had been transformed against her will. At that time, she presented herself to Cliff and Gillian, and eventually married Cliff. She knew that Gillian was unaware that Faerie existed despite being thin-blooded, and believing that it spared her from the Changeling's Choice, manipulated her into turning against Toby when she returned. She remarked that she grew to love Gillian, even going as far as to allowing her to indulge in the same bizarre way that she eats sandwiches that she inherited from her mother.
In the Series[]
One Salt Sea[]
When Gillian is kidnapped and Toby goes to Cliff's house to find clues, Miranda opens the door. Toby tells her that a friend saw the police cars and called her. Miranda accuses Toby of orchestrating Gillian's kidnapping, and says Toby was never a mother, that she threw away her child.
Night and Silence[]
When Gillian disappears a second time, Miranda and Cliff rush into Toby's house. Miranda is angry, demanding to know where Gillian is and trying to go upstairs, again accusing Toby of kidnapping her. She reveals that they hired private detectives to follow Toby - although not very good ones, since they apparently didn't know about May's existence despite the legal papers that name her as Toby's sister. Later when Toby goes to their place to update Cliff, she realizes that it was Miranda who gave Gillian the herbs that would have repelled other Fae, and that this must mean Miranda knows about them. After some pressing, Miranda reveals that she is really Janet from the ballad, and Toby's grandmother, and apologises for elbowing Toby out of Gillian's life.
After panicking when Toby reveals May had been her Fetch, Toby is worried that whoever kidnapped Gillian might be aiming for Janet too, and Cliff may be caught in the crossfire. She convinces Janet to leave the house with them, and takes her to the Luidaeg, then makes the Luidaeg promise to protect her while Toby is looking for Gillian.
Suffer a Sea-Change[]
At the Luidaeg's place, Janet is reunited with Gillian, who is now a Selkie. Gillian is angry at her for keeping Faerie a secret, and for not telling her that Toby didn't abandon her on purpose, aware that this had endangered her life. Still, Gillian asks Janet to come with them when the Luidaeg takes her to Roan Rathad to talk to the other Selkies. Janet and Elizabeth Ryan discuss the details of Gillian's education.
The Unkindest Tide[]
Janet is home when Toby comes to tell Gillian about the upcoming trip to the Duchy of Ships. Janet doesn't want to let her take Gillian, and the two of them (and Tybalt) have an argument about whose daughter Gillian is, which Gillian ends by claiming to be her own person. Gillian tells Janet that she will not leave her, but she has to accept that Toby is her mother, too, however Janet is devastated that Gillian lost her humanity.
Relationships[]
Cliff Marks[]
Cliff is Janet's human husband. When Gillian asks whether Janet really met Cliff by accident, she avoids the answer, saying that Gillian asking her this breaks her heart. It is unclear whether she really cares for Cliff, although they spent over a decade together.
Gillian Marks[]
Gillian is Janet's great-granddaughter by blood, and her step-daughter by marriage. Janet thought that Toby abandoned Gillian, and she wanted to do right by the blood of her blood by raising the child that was rejected by Faerie. She came to love Gillian as her own daughter, and she apologizes for not making space for Toby in her life, but she is constantly worried about Toby - and Faerie - taking Gillian away.
Oberon[]
The two were lovers after Maeve's disappearance, and Janet attended Oberon's court. They have a daughter together, Amandine, though Janet did not get to raise her. Janet describes Oberon as a kind man, even when he didn't have to be. Before he disappeared, he assured Janet that she would have a place wherever she decided to settle: an independent, private shallowing where she would not be bothered by any of the local fae.
October Daye[]
Toby and Janet have a stormy relationship - under her Miranda guise, Janet turned Gillian against Toby, and although Toby was grateful that she raised Gillian, she can't forgive her for elbowing her out of her life, even going as so far to assume that Toby changed Gillian's blood as a way to "surrender" their daughter to her. While Janet is hostile towards Toby, she does apologise that she didn't make room for Toby. The two are on more civil terms for Gillian's sake, and Janet said that she wanted to keep an eye on Toby and Amandine. It is unclear if she is aware of the existence of August yet.
Quotes[]
- “They forbade us maidens all who wore gold in our hair to come nor go near Caughterha; said young Tam Lin was there. More fool me, who never once learned how to listen.”[1]
See Also[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Night and Silence, ch. 13.