“It was a horrible state of tension to live in”: J.K. Rowling Was Afraid Her Abusive Ex-husband Would Ruin Her Career by Burning Harry Potter Manuscript
The Harry Potter movie series is undoubtedly one of the most successful movie series of all time. It is based on novels by J. K. Rowling and what a lot of people don’t know is that Rowling’s first husband Jorge Arantes almost destroyed the masterpiece. In one of her recent interviews, Rowling opened up about her abusive marriage and how Arantes almost destroyed the first Harry Potter manuscript.
She decided to take copies of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and keep them out of the house as her husband threatened to burn all of them. Thankfully, her quick thinking gave us eight blockbuster movies based on her equally amazing novels.
J.K. Rowling’s first husband almost destroyed the Harry Potter books
Author J.K. Rowling recently dropped her audio documentary, The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling, and revealed that the first Harry Potter manuscript was almost destroyed. She talked about her abusive relationship with her first husband Jorge Arantes. She said,
“He’s not a stupid person. I think he knew, or suspected, that I was going to bolt again. It was a horrible state of tension to live in. He knew what that manuscript meant to me because at a point, he took the manuscript and hid it, and that was his hostage. When I realized that I was going to go – this was it, I was definitely going – I would take a few pages of the manuscript into work every day.”
The author further explained that she had to photocopy the manuscript, as Arantes threatened to destroy it,
“Just a few pages, so he wouldn’t realize anything was missing, and I would photocopy it. And gradually, in a cupboard in the staff room, bit by bit, a photocopied manuscript grew and grew and grew. I suspected that if I wasn’t able to get out with everything, he would burn it or take it or hold it hostage. That manuscript still meant so much to me, [it] was the only thing I still prioritized saving.”
The author wrote and published seven Harry Potter books which were later used to create the Harry Potter movie series.
The author got married to Jorge Arantes in 1992
J.K. Rowling met Jorge Arantes in Portugal in 1992, where the author was teaching English. They got married in October 1992 and welcomed a daughter, Jessica, in 1993. However, just months after the birth of their daughter, they hit a rough patch and got separated in November 1993.
Rowling has actively talked about the trauma she suffered during the marriage, including physical and emotional abuse. Her experiences even inspired her to create some of the abusive relationships depicted in her books. She filed for divorce in August 1994 and was granted custody of their daughter.
Also read: Famous People Who Failed Before They Succeeded
J.K. Rowling’s novels were used to create a magical movie world
The author’s life completely changed as her seven novels were used to create the Harry Potter movie series. It grossed a total of $7.7 billion worldwide. becoming the second highest-grossing film franchise of all time, behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The cast of the movie was also on point and helped in launching the careers of the main cast. Even today, the series is loved by fans all over the world. The movies helped the author generate a lot of income.
Related: Harry Potter: What Voldemort Could Have Looked Like (& Why Was It Worse)
Source: The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling
