Frank Wedekind wrote the dramas Erdgeist and Die Büchse der Pandora, which formed the basis of Pabst’s 1929 film Pandora’s Box. Wedekind was a German playwright whose work often challenged conventional morality and social expectations.
The two Lulu plays were published and staged separately. Erdgeist, or Earth Spirit, introduces Lulu and her destructive effect on the people around her. Die Büchse der Pandora, or Pandora’s Box, continues the story and gives the character’s arc its darker conclusion.
Pabst’s film condenses and reshapes material from both dramas rather than presenting a literal adaptation of the ancient Greek myth. This distinction matters because Lulu and Pandora are related through symbolism and title, but they are not the same character. Wedekind’s plays also influenced later opera, including Alban Berg’s Lulu.