Who wrote the two plays that inspired Frank Wedekind’s Pandora’s Box?

Frank Wedekind wrote the two plays that together form the basis of Pandora’s Box: Earth Spirit and Pandora’s Box. The German playwright created the character Lulu, whose destructive relationships drive both dramas.

Earth Spirit was first performed in 1895, while Pandora’s Box followed in 1904. The plays belong to the fin-de-siècle tradition and use Lulu to explore sexuality, social hypocrisy, power, and the treatment of women. Their title and themes draw on the Pandora myth without simply retelling Hesiod’s ancient story.

The work is often confused with the 1929 film of the same English title. That film was directed by G. W. Pabst and stars Louise Brooks as Lulu, but Wedekind wrote the original dramatic source. His plays also influenced later stage and screen adaptations centered on Lulu.