''The Forbidden Forest'' (; ) is a 1955 novel by the Romanian writer Mircea Eliade. The story takes place between 1936 and 1948 in Bucharest and several other European cities, and follows a Romanian man who is on a spiritual quest while being torn between two women. The book was written between the years 1949 and 1954. It contains several elements and themes which also appear in the author's scholarly work, such as initiation rites and the division between sacred and profane time.

Plot

Stefan Viziru lives in Bucharest and works for the Romanian state. He lives with his wife Ioana and also has a mistress, Ileana, whom he met at a

Midsummer Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer, taking place on or near the date of the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere; the longest Daytime, day of the year. The name "midsummer" mainly refers to summer solstice festivals of Eu ...

celebration. Stefan is torn between his affection for both women and is at the same time on a spiritual quest. He wishes to discover a sacred time which stands independently from the historical time and the destructive developments in contemporary Europe. Stefan befriends several people who influence him. A philosophy teacher argues that Stefan is searching for the paradise of his childhood. When Stefan tries to provide refuge for a member of the

Iron Guard The Iron Guard () was a Romanian militant revolutionary nationalism, revolutionary Clerical fascism, religious fascist Political movement, movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel M ...

, he is put in a prison camp and temporarily loses his job. Ileana becomes engaged to an officer who dies in a car accident, after which she leaves Bucharest. Stefan's wife Ioana and their son die in the bombings of Bucharest in 1944. Stefan realises that he loves Ileana and sets out to find her. He travels around Europe and goes through a lot of searching. Eventually he finds her, on Midsummer's eve of 1948 in a forest in France. As they leave the forest together they are killed in a car accident.

Publication

The novel was first published by Éditions Gallimard in 1955 in a French translation by Alain Guillermou. The original Romanian version was published in 1971. An English translation by Mac Linscott Ricketts and Mary Park Stevenson was published in 1978 through

University of Notre Dame Press The University of Notre Dame Press is a university press that is part of the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. The press was founded in 1949, and claims to be the largest Catholic university press in the world. The ...

Reception

Eliade himself considered ''The Forbidden Forest'' to be his best work. It received little response from the academic world upon the initial publication, although the Swedish professor Stig Wikander wrote a positive review for '' Sydsvenska Dagbladet Snällposten''. The novel received the Fantastic and Fantasy Award for best novel at Eurocon 1978 in Brussel. '' Chronicles of Culture'' reviewed the book in 1980:

Both fiction and epic, ''The Forbidden Forest'' is an exceptional book about war and peace. Not unlike the Russian masterpiece bearing that title, Eliade's novel transcends the particulars of its subject matter—in this case, Romania at the outset of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
—to explore the agonies of man's condition, his inevitable recourse to violence as he fails to understand others and, above all, himself.

Adaptations

Music

* Romanian composer Serban Nichifor released the poem ''The Forbidden Forest – Homage to Mircea Eliade'' for piano (2021). The poem is based on the novel.

References

External links

Publicity page
at Éditions Gallimard's website {{DEFAULTSORT:Forbidden Forest 1955 novels Works set in Bucharest Éditions Gallimard books Romanian novels Works by Mircea Eliade Novels set during World War II