Editing Lulu (opera) (section)

=== Dramatic ===
The character of Lulu has been described as embodying both elements of female sexuality's dualism, [[earth-mother]] and [[whore]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2020}} In the words of [[Karl Kraus (writer)|Karl Kraus]], she is the woman "who became the destroyer of all because everyone destroyed her".{{sfn|Elliott|2014|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=qrkTAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA55 p.&nbsp;55]}} Berg's involvement with the lower depths of society in his two dramatic works, ''[[Wozzeck]]'' and ''Lulu'', surprised even [[Arnold Schoenberg|Schoenberg]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2020}} Like ''Wozzeck'', ''Lulu'' is social criticism, a tragedy in which the protagonists are portrayed as victims, gradually becoming enslaved to social forces they are too weak to deal with. Significantly, Lulu is canonically startlingly young, only about [[Child Prostitution|15 years of age]] when the drama begins, and [[Incest|Schigolch]], who may or may not be her father, is implied to have been her [[Child Sexual Abuse|first sexual experience]].<ref name=Power2013 /> Palindromes in the piece take many forms, such as the rise and fall of Lulu and the recycling of the actors: the three men whose deaths she contributes to become Lulu's three clients, and the man she murdered murders her. Alwa, thought to be the antithesis of Lulu, was changed from Wedekind's dramatist to Berg's composer and is assumed to be a stand-in for Berg himself. In all cases, the music underscores and confirms Berg's dramatic allusions.{{sfn|Boulez|1979|loc=pp.&nbsp;28–29}}