What is the original German title of Frank Wedekind’s play Pandora’s Box?

The original German title of Frank Wedekind’s play Pandora’s Box is Die Büchse der Pandora.

Wedekind wrote the play as the second part of a Lulu drama. Its predecessor, Earth Spirit, is titled Erdgeist in German. Together, the plays follow Lulu, whose relationships, social rise, and eventual downfall form the core of the story. Die Büchse der Pandora was published in 1904 after a long and controversial theatrical history.

The title alludes to the Greek mythological image of Pandora’s container, but Wedekind’s play is not a dramatization of Hesiod’s narrative. Lulu is a modern fictional character, and the work uses the mythic phrase as a symbol for destructive desire, social repression, and consequences that spread beyond anyone’s control.

Georg Wilhelm Pabst later combined material from both Lulu plays for his 1929 film Pandora’s Box, starring Louise Brooks. That film title is an English translation of Wedekind’s German title.