J.K. Rowling is no stranger to controversy, and she’s not afraid to jump in, ready and swinging… She has also made it no secret how she feels about President Donald Trump and his entire administration. The best way to capture her true angst was via her infamous likening of Trump with Voldemort (with a little help from the BBC).
How horrible. Voldemort was nowhere near as bad. https://t.co/hFO0XmOpPH
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 8, 2015
Rowling has made so many memorable quips since then. And, Rowling doesn’t reserve her comments for Trump alone.
What Did Rowling Say About VP Pence?
In true literary fashion, most recently she’s calling Vice President Pence out with his own words, made in 2015.
Calls to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. are offensive and unconstitutional.
— Governor Mike Pence (@GovPenceIN) December 8, 2015
She quotes his tweet, while adding the verse we all know well:
‘For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?’
Matthew 16:26 https://t.co/cYFglX3yRW— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 29, 2017
It sounds a bit like she’s talking about a Faustian bargain, for anyone who has read a few of those favorite classics. But, who would dare say that? After all, that’s the story of a man who signed away his soul to the devil in exchange for becoming the richest and most powerful man in the world.
In Faust: My Soul Be Damned for the World Volume 1, E.A. Bucchianeri, quotes Matthew 16:26 just like Rowling, and then says of Faustus:
“This was the blackest and most captivating tragedy of all, few could have remained indifferent to the growing intrigue of this individual who apparently shook hands with the devil and freely chose to descend to the molten, sulphuric chasm of Hell for all eternity for so little in exchange. It is a drama that continues to fascinate today as powerfully as when Faustus first disseminated his infamous card in the Heidelberg locale to the scandal of his generation. In fine, a life of good or evil, the hope of Heaven or the despair of Hell, Faustus stands as a reminder that the choice between these two absolutes also falls to us.”
What are your thoughts on J.K. Rowling, and her take on the #MuslimBan, immigration and beyond?
