Pandora
Related: women - evil - Greece - mythology
Pandora (1882) - Jules Joseph Lefebvre
Definition
Greek Mythology. The first woman, bestowed upon humankind as a punishment for Prometheus's theft of fire. Entrusted with a box containing all the ills that could plague people, she opened it out of curiosity and thereby released all the evils of human life. --AHD
In Greek mythology, Pandora ("all gifted") was the first woman, fashioned by Zeus as part of the punishment of mankind for Prometheus' theft of the secret of fire. The myth of Pandora is very old, appears in several distinct versions, and has been interpreted in many ways. In all versions, however, the myth is a kind of theodicy, addressing the question of why there is evil in the world. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandora [Jun 2006]
Pandora's Box (1904) - Frank Wedekind
Pandora's Box (Die Büchse der Pandora) was a German silent film directed by G.W. Pabst and released in 1929. The title is a reference to Pandora of Greek mythology, who upon opening a box given to her by the gods released all evils into the world, leaving only hope behind.
Louise Brooks stars as Lulu, a young impulsive vaudeville performer whose raw sexuality and uninhibited nature bring about the downfall of almost everyone she meets. She meets her doom in London as a victim of Jack the Ripper.
The film is based loosely on Frank Wedekind's play Die Büchse der Pandora (1903), which was also the source for Alban Berg's opera Lulu. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandora%27s_Box_%28movie%29 [Apr 2005]
Frank Wedekind (1864 - 1918)
Benjamin Franklin Wedekind (July 24, 1864 - March 9, 1918) was a German playwright.
He was born in Hanover and had a number of jobs before working in cabaret and becoming a playwright.
His first major play, Frühlings Erwachen (The Awakening of Spring, 1891), which concerns sexuality and puberty, caused a scandal. The "Lulu" plays Erdgeist (Earth Spirit, 1895) and Die Büchse der Pandora (Pandora's Box, 1904) are probably his best known pieces; the two were the basis for Alban Berg's opera Lulu, and Die Büchse der Pandora was the basis for the film Pandora's Box (1929). Wedekind's work, which often criticizes bourgeois attitudes, especially towards sex, is considered to anticipate expressionism. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Wedekind [Apr 2005]
Pandora's Handbag (2001) - Elizabeth Young
Pandora's Handbag (2001) - Elizabeth Young [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Book Description
For many years, Elizabeth Young has been one of the few critics in England to champion new writing and the avant-garde. Pandora's Handbag is a unique combination of autobiography, commentary, published journalism and writer's guide for would-be Arts journalists. A riveting read, the book contains revealing interviews with Herbert Huncke, Jayne County, Dennis Cooper, Edward Gorey and Poppy Z. Brite, amongst others.
Elizabeth Young
Elizabeth Young (1950-2001) was a London-based literary critic and author, who wrote principally on cult writers for a range of British newspapers and magazines. In particular she championed transgressive fiction, for which she received some criticism in the press, not least for her defence of A. M. Homes' The End of Alice, which dealt with themes of paedophilia from what was seen as an uncomfortably neutral perspective.
Born in Lagos, Nigeria she received a Calvinist education in her parents' native Scotland, before discovering at the age of 11 the works of Nelson Algren, Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. The enduring fascination with the Beats was to stay with her. Before becoming a literary critic she worked in the Compendium Bookstore in Camden Town and was noted for her Goth appearance. In addition to literary criticism, Young's attraction to the counterculture saw her pen articles on drugs, music and pornography. She also appeared as Roy Gange's girlfriend in Rude Boy, the 1980 film about a roadie for The Clash.
Young acted as a champion for the US cult scene, with authors such as Brett Easton Ellis, Dennis Cooper and A. M. Homes receiving regular praise in her reviews. She also promoted the early talents of Poppy Z. Brite. In 1992, she and Graham Cavaney published Shopping in Space: Essays on American 'Blank Generation' Fiction (Serpent's Tail), which dealt extensively with the US literary underground, from Joel Rose to grindhouse movies. In terms of UK writers, she acted as an enthusiastic supporter of the talents of Stewart Home, Alasdair Gray, Alan Warner and Irvine Welsh.
In 2001, Young died somewhat untimely from Hepatitis C. Later that year, a selection of her reviews and articles were collated in a volume published by Serpent's Tail, Pandora's Handbag, for which friend Will Self penned the introduction. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Young [Jun 2006]
See also: Pandora - cult fiction - British literature
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