Earth Spirit (play)
Earth Spirit is a play by the German dramatist Frank Wedekind. It forms the first part of his pairing of 'Lulu' plays; the second is Pandora's Box, both depicting a society "riven by the demands of lust and greed". In German folklore an erdgeist is a gnome, first described in Goethe's Faust. Together with Pandora's Box, Wedekind's play formed the basis for the silent film Pandora's Box starring Louise Brooks and the opera Lulu by Alban Berg.
In the original manuscript, dating from 1894, the ‘Lulu’ drama was in five acts and subtitled ‘A Monster Tragedy’. Wedekind subsequently divided the work into two plays: Earth Spirit and Pandora’s Box. The premiere of Earth Spirit took place in Leipzig on 25 February 1898, in a production by Carl Heine, with Wedekind himself in the role of Dr Schön. Wedekind is known to have taken his inspiration from at least two sources: the circus pantomime Lulu, Une Clownesse danseuse by Félicien Champsaur, which he saw in Paris in the early 1890s, and the sex murders of Jack the Ripper in London in 1888. Although Lulu is not based on one specific, actually existing historical person, the Lulu character may have been partially inspired by Lou Andreas-Salomé, whom Wedekind had met in Paris, but who had rejected his advances.
Lulu's character may also partly been based on the French vaudeville artist Eugénie Fougère. During act I, Lulu stated in response to a question about her dancing, "I learned in Paris. I took lessons from Eugenie Fougère. She let me copy her costumes too." Wedekind probably met Fougère personally during his sojourns in Paris in 1892–1894, when he frequented the city's music halls and vaudeville theatres regularly. In a letter written by the playwright in 1899, Wedekind wrote: "On the first evening of my stay here, I was in Folies Bergêre, saw Eugenie Fougère, a little wild, but didn't take the opportunity to renew our acquaintance." He was impressed by the extravagant variety artist, and also referred to her in an interview with the Spanish vaudeville dancer La Tortajada for the German satirical weekly magazine Simplicissimus saying that "she was the best dancer I had seen so far in her genre."
Plot
In a Prologue, the characters in the drama are introduced by an ‘Animal Tamer’ as if they are creatures in a travelling circus. Lulu herself is described as “the true animal, the wild, beautiful animal” and the “primal form of woman”.When the action of the play starts, Lulu has been rescued by the rich newspaper publisher Dr Schön from a life on the streets with her alleged father, the petty criminal Schigolch. Dr Schön has taken Lulu under his wing, educated her and made her his lover. Wishing however to make a more socially advantageous match for himself, he has married her off to the medic Dr Goll.
In the first Act Dr Goll has brought Lulu to have her portrait painted by Schwarz. Left alone with him, Lulu seduces the painter. When Dr Goll returns to confront them, he collapses with a fatal heart attack.
In Act Two, Lulu has married the painter Schwarz, who, with Schön's assistance, has now achieved fame and wealth. She remains Schön's mistress, however. Wishing to be rid of her ahead of his forthcoming marriage to a society belle, Charlotte von Zarnikow, Schön informs Schwarz about her dissolute past. Schwarz is shocked to the core and “guillotines” himself with his razor.
In Act Three Lulu appears as a dancer in a revue, her new career promoted by Schön's son Alwa, who is now also infatuated with her. Dr Schön is forced to admit that he is in her thrall. Lulu forces him to break off his engagement to Charlotte.
In Act Four Lulu is now married to Dr Schön but is unfaithful to him with several other people. On discovering this, Schön presses a revolver into her hand, urging her to kill herself. Instead, she uses it to shoot Schön, all the while declaring him the only man she has ever loved. She is imprisoned for her crime.
Her escape from prison with the aid of Countess Geschwitz and subsequent career down to her death at the hands of Jack the Ripper in London are the subject of the sequel, Pandora's Box. It is now customary in theatre performances to run the two plays together, in abridged form, under the title Lulu.