Importance of Robert Walton's letters and himself in Frankenstein

1439 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Walton and Frankenstein comparisons

In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Robert Walton is a ambitious character who desires to accomplish his dream from youth. Although, Walton only appears briefly in the book, he serves to be an important character. He is an important character to consider as he is a reflection of Victor Frankenstein's ruthless pursuit for knowledge. In this essay, I argue that the purpose for Robert Walton's letters being introduced in the beginning and the end of the novel is to allow the readers to develop a further understanding of dangers of irresponsibility associated with pursuit of knowledge. Consequently, Walton himself and his letters suggests that the tragedies can be prevented if individuals anticipate both negative and positive consequences that occur with wondering though the limitless boundaries of knowledge which Victor Frankenstein ignored.
Shelley introduces Walton's letters in the beginning of the book as they help to foreshadow the major theme of pursuit of knowledge that is prominent throughout the book. With Walton travelling to the north, the danger he will face is unavoidable as it has never been properly explored before. When Walton encounters the first sign of danger, he describes the situation as "somewhat dangerous" even though his ship was "surrounded by ice" and "compassed round by very thick fog" (Shelley 23). He describes his situation passively as he views the danger not imminent, this demonstrates the pursuit of knowledge and how Walton ignores it as he does not see it as a threat that could stop his strive for success, which is similar to Victor and his creation of the monster. Nicholas Marsh argues "knowledge [serving] ulterior motive [is] dangerous" (176) and furthers explains the two kinds of knowledge...

... middle of paper ...

...hey have significant purpose. Walton's letters are able to illustrate and foreshadow the themes of birth imagery, responsibility and unpredictability of the book while the character itself is a depiction of qualities which Victor could have used to prevent the tragedies.

Works Cited

Marsh, Nicholas. Analysing texts Mary Shelley Frankenstein. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. Print .
Poovey, Mary. " My hideous progeny: Mary Shelley and the feminization of romanticism". PMLA: Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, 95, 332-347. (1980): 332-47. Humanities & Social Sciences Index Retrospective:1907-1984 (H.W.Wilson).Web. 2 June 2014.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Ed. M.K. Joseph. Oxford: Oxford UP,2008. Print.
Thompson, Terry W. "Robert Walton as Reanimator". Papers on Language & Literature3 (2004): Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 June 2014.

Show More
Related

  • Passion And Responsibility In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1142 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley highlights on the experiences her characters undergo through the internal war of passion and responsibility. Victor Frankenstein lets his eagerness of knowledge and creating life get so out of hand that he fails to realize what the outcome of such a creature would affect humankind. Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, highlights on how Frankenstein’s passion of knowledge is what ultimately causes the decline of his health and the death of him and his loved ones.

    Read More

  • Textual Irony In Frankenstein's Monologue Essay

    693 Words  | 2 Pages

    The start of Robert Walton and the monster’s final conversation, this paragraph near the end of Mary Shelly’s novel Frankenstein uncovers the untold perspective of Victor Frankenstein’s creation. Revealing to Robert that Frankenstein’s misery was not the only casualty of the novel, Shelly’s utilization of the monster’s pain illustrates mankind’s hatred and abandonment of the artificial being. Moreover, directing spiteful words towards Victor Frankenstein, Felix De Lacey, and even himself, the monster’s narration reflects the being’s unresolved emotions that have emerged because of society’s cruelty. Although science fiction, the narrative of Frankenstein’s monster exemplifies the literary reproduction of England’s monarchy deserting its own

    Read More

  • The Thirst for Knowledge in Frankenstein

    609 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the gothic novel Frankenstein, humans have a bottomless, motivating, but often dangerous thirst for knowledge. This idea was clearly illustrated throughout the novel by Mary Shelley. The three main characters in the novel shared the thirst for knowledge that later led to their downfall. In the novel, knowledge is a huge theme that led to atrocious life for anyone that tried to gain it. Knowledge is hazardous; therefore, I support Dr. Frankenstein’s warning about knowledge being dangerous and that knowledge shouldn’t be gained.

    Read More

  • Robert Walton In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    671 Words  | 2 Pages

    The two characters introduced during the letters section in the book are Robert Walton and the stranger who came onto his crew. Robert Walton is sending letters to his sister, which indicate he is on a voyage to the North Pole and how ambitious he is to be the first to sail there. During his journey, an unknown man boards his ship. My initial reaction to Walton was that he seemed to be very ambitious, but also a clear example of a romantic character. Additionally, he searches for someone who is in able to share his ambitions and romantic characteristics. My reaction to the stranger who boards the ship was that he seemed helpless at first until he was in a less fragile

    Read More

  • How does Mary Shelley use Gothic Conventions in Frankenstein?

    2545 Words  | 6 Pages

    Mary Shelley’s novel arises several questions relevant to the present day. A question that arises from the novel is whether man is born evil or made evil from his life experiences. The debate on whether how far man should pursue knowledge exists today as well as other questions challenged in the novel therefore “Frankenstein” is a popular novel at present as much as it was in the past.

    Read More

  • Victor Frankenstein Thirst for Knowledge

    1324 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mary Shelley brings about both the positive and negative aspects of knowledge through her characters in Frankenstein. The use of knowledge usually has many benefits, but here Shelley illustrates how seeking knowledge beyond its limits takes away from the natural pleasures of known knowledge. She suggests that knowledge without mortality and uncontrolled passions will lead to destruction. Victor and his monster experience this destruction following their desires and losing self control. Walton, on the other hand, becomes of aware of the consequences and is able to turn back before it’s too late. Shelley also suggests that without enjoying the natural pleasures of life, pursuing knowledge is limited, but how can knowledge be limited if it is infinite?

    Read More

  • Dangerous Knowledge In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1622 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Foreign Minister of Britain compared Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to a warning about the damage the immediate release of slaves can do. He was a fiery individual who sought to understand all knowledge regardless of how practical the information was. Evidence of this is when his father tells him not to worry about fictional writers like Cornelius Agrippa. Yet, Frankenstein states, “But here were books, and here were men who had penetrated deeper and knew more.

    Read More

  • Abuse Of Power And Knowledge In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    523 Words  | 2 Pages

    Victor Frankenstein, blinded by pride, remained unaware of how his experiment would affect not only him, but the world around him as he formed his new discovery. His secret to creating life only caused more life to be lost. Because of Victor’s reckless behavior, he caused the depressed and lonely world around his own creation, one who, in the end, Victor did not want to take responsibility for making, no matter how remarkable. The Creation, a being of unfortunate circumstance, exemplifies how knowledge has dangerous and everlasting effects if not used safely or for good intentions. Unfortunately, The Creation leaves his own damage behind as well, again showing how knowledge is harmful, by killing Elizabeth, Victor’s wife, Henry Clerval, his dearest friend, and other members a part of Victor’s family and friends. This demonstrates how knowledge, if not used wisely, can lead to death and suffering. The power of knowledge, in Mary Shelley’s writing, is a gift bestowed on those who can handle the power responsibly, as opposed to using it for selfish boasting. In contrast, she uses these two characters to show the importance of being knowledgeable in both science and responsibility and the unforgivable mutilation that comes if you fail to overcome

    Read More

  • The Struggle Of Power In Victor Frankenstein And The Monster

    1073 Words  | 3 Pages

    Education is a tool to advance an individual and a society; however, education can become a means to gain power when knowledge is used to exercise control over another. In Frankenstein, knowledge becomes the downfall of both Victor Frankenstein and the Monster. The novel explores the consequent power struggle between Victor Frankenstein and his creation, the dichotomy of good and evil, and the contrast between intellectual and physical power. Finding themselves in mirroring journeys, Victor Frankenstein and the Monster are locked in a struggle for dominance. Through these two characters, Mary Shelley explores the consequences of an egotistical mindset and of using knowledge to exercise power over others.

    Read More

  • Who Is the Real Monster in Frankenstein?

    1708 Words  | 4 Pages

    Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a nineteenth century literary work that delves into the world of science and the plausible outcomes of morally insensitive technological research. Although the novel brings to the forefront several issues about knowledge and sublime nature, the novel mostly explores the psychological and physical journey of two complex characters. While each character exhibits several interesting traits that range from passive and contemplative to rash and impulsive, their most attractive quality is their monstrosity. Their monstrosities, however, differ in the way each of the character’s act and respond to their environment. Throughout Frankenstein, one assumes that Frankenstein’s creation is the true monster. While the creation’s actions are indeed monstrous, one must also realize that his creator, Victor Frankenstein is also a villain. His inconsiderate and selfish acts as well as his passion for science result in the death of his friend and family members and ultimately in his own demise.

    Read More

  • Narration in Frankenstein

    1209 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although “Frankenstein” is the story of Victor and his monster, Walton is the most reliable narrator throughout the novel. However, like most narrator’s, even his retelling of Victor’s story is skewed by prejudice and favoritism of the scientist’s point of view. Yet this could be attributed to the only view points he ever gets to truly hear are from Victor himself and not the monster that he only gets to meet after he comes to mourn his fallen master.

    Read More

  • The Destructive Desire for Knowledge: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

    1118 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...Frankenstein and the creature. The situations that each character experience are lessons about how seeking prohibited intelligence comes with extreme consequences. Frankenstein is a Gothic novel which means it involves the supernatural; however, because it contains religious qualities it is more appealing to the common people’s idea of knowledge. Mary Shelley achieves her goal of informing the audience that man should not seek or possess the level of knowledge that God acquires. One should learn from the situations present in the novel because life comes with an enormous amount of knowledge; going after the unknown is an act of rebellion against God.

    Read More

  • The Analysis Of Women In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    1317 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many women like those in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein suffer from inequality and oppression. Many women are treated like property and are deprived of rights that men have. The women are murdered and created in Shelley’s novel to represent how quickly women can be replaced. Women are clearly presented in the novel as classless individuals who are forced to comply as submissive beings living under the wing of man, the dominant leader in Frankenstein society.

    Read More

  • Frankenstein Pursuit Of Knowledge Analysis

    1000 Words  | 2 Pages

    knowledge is found at the heart of the novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Mary Shelley constructs her novel in a form of tripartite that consists of three speakers Victor, Victor’s Creature, and Robert Walton. The pursuit of knowledge is conveyed by the alluring antagonist Victor in his endeavor to go beyond human adeptness and discover the elixir of life. The pursuit of knowledge is shown through another character, Frankenstein’s Creature whose pursuit of knowledge prompts him to become aware of himself. Robert Walton through the pursuit of knowledge learns that his own strive for success leads him to learning that his selfish pursuits are effecting the people around him. The pursuit of knowledge is proved to be dangerous to all three speakers Victor, Victor’s Creature, and Robert Walton and all three prove to the reader how destructive knowledge can be.

    Read More

  • Moby Dick: Symbols To Draw Attention

    1211 Words  | 3 Pages

    Often in great works of literature, symbols are incorporated to add depth. These symbols make it more interesting to the reader by making connections from one idea to another. Herman Melville depicts a great number of characters and symbols in his 19th century novel Moby Dick. Melville uses symbols to develop plot, characters, and to give the reader a deeper interpretation of the novel. (Tucker) The author successfully uses the symbols of brotherhood, monomania, isolation, religion, and duality to make his book more interesting to its readers.

    Read More

More about Importance of Robert Walton's letters and himself in Frankenstein

Open Document