Robert Walton In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, recounts the fictional tale of Victor Frankenstein and his horrific creation. After being rescued by Robert Walton, an explorer, from the brink of death in the artic, Dr. Frankenstein narrates his past to Walton, telling his own story about his dedication to his awful project: the creation of life. Letter IV illustrates the development of Walton’s relationship with Frankenstein, which causes Victor to warn Walton about the dangers of ambition, and their closeness allows Frankenstein to disclose his regret surrounding the creation.
Traveling the arctic in search North Pole’s secrets, Robert Walton happens upon a man on a dogsled whose “limbs were nearly frozen, and his body dreadfully emaciated by fatigue and suffering,” …show more content…
The creation disrupts Victor’s life and isolates him from his family, and he feels as if he is resigned to his somber fate. Frankenstein gives up all hope for the future, even telling Walton, “You have hope, and the world before you, and have no cause for despair. But I – I have lost every thing and cannot begin life anew”(31). The doctor also does not want Walton to face the regret he felt, after the completion of his project. Worried that Robert will face remorse in the fulfillment of his goals, but knowing that he himself can do nothing to sway Walton, Frankenstein tells his friend, “You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been,” to warn Walton of a bittersweet ending (31). Altogether, readers can observe Frankenstein’s despondency towards his situation, though he uses his experience to push Walton away from regret. Mary Shelley’s classic is well-written and detailed, with Frankenstein’s complicated past darkening the present time (in the book). In Letter IV, He and Walton bond through need of a male companion and through their shared intellectual backgrounds. When the two become close, Frankenstein opens up to Walton about the mistakes of his life, and the regret he has because
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