J.K. Rowling.
(PORTO, PORTUGAL)
Joanne Rowling moved to Porto, Portugal following the death of her mother on December 30th, 1990. This decision was sudden and in 1991 she relocated to the city of Porto after filling a vacant teachers position. In Northern Portugal she taught English as a forgien language. In this city she worked on the Harry Potter series, writing up the first three chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ("J.K. Rowling"). This move really did a number on Rowling in terms of her emotions and mental health. She was depressed, confused, and even regret not sharing Harry Potter with her mother after creating the concept and the storyline. These emotions influenced her writing along with the decision to take on the move to Portugal. She wanted to escape the upsetting memories and have a complete fresh start. If she did not make this move then she would have not been able to focus on these raw emotions pertaining to death and the loss of a love one. She relayed these emotions through her titular character, Harry Potter since he too experiences the loss of his parents.The basis of the series is from the death of a loved one, what it means to die, and how the living are impacted by the death of another. After being in the country for a few months she then met Jorge Arantes at a bar, the two would then get married in the same year that they met on October 16th, 1992 (Hall). This deicison was quite rushed because she was so overwhelmed and blinded by all that had happened to her. Besides getting married in this city, they also had a child together: Jessica Isabel Rowling Arantes, on July 27th, 1993. 1993 was a bitter sweet year for Rowling since the two ended up seperating shortly after the birth of their daughter on November 17th, 1993 ("Timeline"). Rowling and her daugther then left Porto, Portugal during December, 1993 before moving to Edinburgh, Scotland.
Work Cited
Hall, Dana.“JK Rowling Turned Down By 12 Publishers Before Finding Success
With Harry Potter Books.” Rise Up Eight, 4 Feb. 2020, riseupeight.org/jk-rowling-harry-potter-books/#:%7E:text=In%20December%201990%2C%20her%20mother,her%20mother%20about%20the%20project
“J.K. Rowling.” JKRowling.com, 2016. www.jkrowling.com/about
“Timeline.” The Rowling Library, www.therowlinglibrary.com/j-k-rowling/timeline