Editing Mircea Eliade (section)

===1930s political transition===
Eliade's articles before and after his adherence to the principles of the [[Iron Guard]] (or, as it was usually known at the time, the ''Legionary Movement''), beginning with his ''Itinerar spiritual'' ("Spiritual Itinerary", serialized in ''Cuvântul'' in 1927), center on several political ideals advocated by the far right.

They displayed his rejection of [[Liberalism and radicalism in Romania|liberalism]] and the [[Modernization|modernizing]] goals of the [[1848 Wallachian revolution]] (perceived as "an abstract apology of Mankind"<ref>Eliade, 1933, in Ornea, p. 32.</ref> and "ape-like imitation of [Western] Europe"),<ref>Eliade, 1936, in Ornea, p. 32.</ref> as well as for democracy itself (accusing it of "managing to crush all attempts at national renaissance",<ref name="Eliade, 1937, in Ornea, p.53">Eliade, 1937, in Ornea, p. 53</ref> and later praising [[Benito Mussolini]]'s [[Italian fascism|Fascist Italy]] on the grounds that, according to Eliade, "[in Italy,] he who thinks for himself is promoted to the highest office in the shortest of times").<ref name="Eliade, 1937, in Ornea, p.53"/> He approved of an [[Ethnic nationalism|ethnic nationalist]] state centered on the Orthodox Church (in 1927, despite his still-vivid interest in [[Theosophy (Blavatskian)|Theosophy]], he recommended young intellectuals "the return to the Church"),<ref>Eliade, 1927, in Ornea, p. 147</ref> which he opposed to, among others, the [[Secularism|secular]] nationalism of [[Constantin Rădulescu-Motru]];<ref>Eliade, 1935, in Ornea, p. 128.</ref> referring to this particular ideal as "Romanianism", Eliade was, in 1934, still viewing it as "neither fascism, nor [[chauvinism]]".<ref>Eliade, 1934, in Ornea, p. 136</ref>

Eliade was especially dissatisfied with the incidence of unemployment among intellectuals, whose careers in state-financed institutions had been rendered uncertain by the [[Great Depression]].<ref>Eliade, 1933, in Ornea, pp. 178, 186.</ref>

In 1936, Eliade was the focus of a campaign in the far right press, being targeted for having authored "pornography" in his ''[[Miss Christina|Domnișoara Christina]]'' and ''Isabel și apele diavolului''; similar accusations were aimed at other cultural figures, including [[Tudor Arghezi]] and [[Geo Bogza]].<ref>Ornea, pp. 445–455.</ref> Assessments of Eliade's work were in sharp contrast to one another: also in 1936, Eliade accepted an award from the [[Romanian Writers' Society]], of which he had been a member since 1934.<ref>Nastasă, pp. 525–526.</ref> In summer 1937, through an official decision which came as a result of the accusations, and despite student protests, he was stripped of his position at the university.<ref>Nastasă, p. 86; Ornea, pp. 452–453; Şora, in Handoca</ref>

Eliade decided to sue the [[Minister of Education, Research and Youth (Romania)|Ministry of Education]], asking for a symbolic compensation of 1 [[Romanian leu|leu]].<ref name= "Ornea, p.453">Ornea, p. 453.</ref> He won the trial, and regained his position as Nae Ionescu's assistant.<ref name="Ornea, p.453" />

Nevertheless, by 1937, he gave his intellectual support to the Iron Guard, in which he saw "a Christian revolution aimed at creating a new Romania",<ref name="Eliade, 1937, in Ornea, p.203">Eliade, 1937, in Ornea, p. 203</ref> and a group able "to reconcile Romania with God".<ref name="Eliade, 1937, in Ornea, p.203"/> His articles of the time, published in Iron Guard-affiliated papers such as ''[[Sfarmă-Piatră]]'' and ''[[Buna Vestire]]'', contain ample praises of the movement's leaders ([[Corneliu Zelea Codreanu]], [[Ion Moța]], [[Vasile Marin]], and [[Gheorghe Cantacuzino-Grănicerul]]).<ref>Ornea, pp. 202–206</ref><ref name="oscaderea">[[Ovidiu Şimonca]], [http://www.observatorcultural.ro/informatiiarticol.phtml?xid=14834 "Mircea Eliade şi 'căderea în lume'" ("Mircea Eliade and 'the Descent into the World'")] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20121222064543/http://www.observatorcultural.ro/informatiiarticol.phtml?xid=14834|date=2012-12-22}}, review of Florin Ţurcanu, ''Mircea Eliade. Le prisonnier de l'histoire'' ("Mircea Eliade. The Prisoner of History"), in ''[[Observator Cultural]]'', Nr. 305, January–February 2006; retrieved July 16, 2007 {{in lang|ro}}</ref> The transition he went through was similar to that of his fellow generation members and close collaborators—among the notable exceptions to this rule were [[Petru Comarnescu]], sociologist [[Henri H. Stahl]] and future dramatist [[Eugène Ionesco]], as well as Sebastian.<ref>Ornea, p. 180</ref>

He eventually enrolled in the ''Totul pentru Țară'' ("Everything for the Fatherland" Party), the political expression of the Iron Guard,<ref name="smihai"/><ref name="Ornea, p.207">Ornea, p. 207</ref> and contributed to its [[1937 Romanian general election|1937 electoral campaign]] in [[Prahova County]]—as indicated by his inclusion on a list of party members with [[Counties of Romania|county]]-level responsibilities (published in ''Buna Vestire'').<ref name="Ornea, p.207"/>