In Frank Wedekind’s drama Pandora’s Box, the central character’s first name is Lulu.
Pandora’s Box is the second of Wedekind’s two Lulu plays, following Earth Spirit. The plays focus on Lulu, a woman whose relationships with men are shaped by desire, power, class, and social judgment. The character’s name became widely known through later stage and film adaptations.
Wedekind wrote the plays in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They were controversial because of their frank treatment of sexuality and because Lulu resists the respectable roles expected of women in her society. The works were later adapted into films, operas, and other theatrical productions.
Lulu is not Pandora from Greek mythology. Wedekind’s title uses the mythic name as an allusion to danger and consequence, while creating a separate modern character and plot.