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The novel presents Janelle almost entirely in flashbacks, as she has already abandoned her daughter by the point at which Maren begins to narrate her story. Janelle’s life is for many years entirely dominated by her daughter’s cannibalism. Though she is horrified by Maren’s condition, she nevertheless feels that it is her duty as a parent to protect her, and she moves around the country in order to conceal Maren’s crimes from the authorities. Moving from state to state, and wracked with guilt over her daughter’s actions, she is unable to settle down anywhere and lives a miserable and lonely life. Despite her unhappiness, she is a strong and resilient character. She learns to pack up her few valuables quickly and leave town without leaving a trace, and her professional skills, including a rapid typing speed, ensure that she is able to find steady work wherever they go. While living in Baltimore after Maren’s second cannibalistic incident, Janelle finds a rewarding job in a law-office where she enjoys the company of her colleagues and anticipates a pay rise. However, Maren’s cannibalistic consumption of the son of one of Janelle’s colleagues destabilizes their lives once again.
Later in the novel, after reading her father’s journal at the Bridemoor institute, Maren learns that her mother was once a happy and carefree young woman, who was deeply in love with her husband, Francis, enjoyed classic Hollywood romance films, and eagerly anticipated having a child. However, little trace of her formerly cheerful personality survives after years spent covering up for Maren’s cannibalism. Maren wonders if her mother ever truly loved her, theorizing that she took care of her out of a sense of obligation as a parent rather than any true sense of warmth or affection. Lee suggests that Janelle might have even been afraid of Maren. Though Janelle does not appear directly in the story after Chapter 2, Maren thinks of her often, and she appears frequently in Maren’s dreams.
