Children often grow up wanting to be like their idols and role models. As a young girl, I idolized my mom and wanted to grow up to be just like her. She is strong, independent, and she can hold her own. I saw and still see her as an ideal example of the woman that I want to be. These idolizations are present not only in real life but in fiction as well. In Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein is the idealized person Robert Walton wants to become.…
The beginning and ending of the novel Frankenstein are written in epistolary form as a series of letters from Robert Walton, to his sister. The letters are unusual as they contain very little information about Walton’s sister and mostly detail Walton’s exploits in exploring the Arctic in search of the North-West Passage, in this way resembling journal entries instead of letters. While Walton spends many pages explaining his adventures in a “land surpassing in wonders and beauty,” the few questions asked to his sister are either rhetorical such as “do you understand this feeling?” which is also condescending, snidely suggesting his sisters incapacity to comprehend sublime emotions, or refer solely to himself such as “when shall I return?” In fact one of the few pieces of information collected about his sister is revealed in the last series of letters and that she has a “husband and lovely children,” something common to many women and making her remarkably indistinguishable. Because of the total lack of any real detail about his sister the reader effectively takes her place in a listener-speaker dynamic.…
In a series of letters, Robert Walton, the captain of a ship bound for the North Pole, tells his sister who is in England about his mission. Victor Frankenstein who was traveling by dog-drawn sledge across ice was very weak. Walton takes him in and nurses him. Frankenstein then tells him his story of how he created a monster. Victor had a great childhood with his parents and his cousin, Elizabeth, and friend Henry Clerval. Later, Victor enters the university of Ingolstadt to study natural philosophy and chemistry. He soon becomes obsessed with creating life. He soon accomplishes that but sees that he created a horrible looking monster and abandons the monster. He finds out that…
In the beginning of Frankenstein, it begins with four different letters, written by Robert Walton to his sister Margaret Saville. Robert Walton is a captain aboard a ship on a very destructive voyage towards the North Pole. He then on explains to Margaret the undiscovered territory he stumbles upon, as well as uncover a passage in the northern parts of the pacific and that he is Russia. “This is the most favourable period for travelling in Russia. . . The cold is not excessive, if you are wrapped in fur- . . .” (Walton 1) In the second and the third letter, Robert Walton then on explains and recognizes the fact that he has no friends and has a goal of making friends. He starts to feel lonely. “But I have one want which I have never yet been…
Walton's letters to his sister at the beginning of the story foreshadow the feelings and motivations that Frankenstein experiences when he first discovers the "the cause of generation and life." Both Walton and Frankenstein are adventures and obsessive with knowledge. The two strive to be the first man to do or see something. Walton is going on a voyage and is feeling excited about being on the verge of discovering new land, passages, powers, and glory . His enthusiasm in "discovering the wondrous power which attracts the needle and regulates a thousand celestial observations" and his "ardent curiosity to tread a land never before imprinted by the foot of man" parallel the feelings of Frankenstein's fascination with the mystery of the creation of life. This same enthusiasm is expressed in this quote by Frankenstein; "the astonishment which I had at first experienced on this discovery soon gave place to delight and rapture."…
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, there is a warning against value being placed obsessively on the pursuit of knowledge, progress and power. It is against anything natural and disrupts the natural world. Mary Shelley uses scientific developments of the late 18th century as a catalyst to reflect the consequences of an obsession with knowledge and the power associated with it. During the late 18th century, the “first robot”, a mechanical duck, was built and bodies of late people were being experimented on. This is clearly reflected in her novel Frankenstein. Victor’s justification for making the Creature was that “Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and a torrent of light into our dark world.” Victor’s disruptive obsession was evident when he created the Creature as “the moon gazed on my midnight labours”. This resulted with Victor seeming “to have lost all soul and sensation apart from this one pursuit”. The use of first person narrative helps the reader to personalise this eccentric obsession and understand why certain choices were made. Robert Walton is obsessed with being the first man to reach the North Pole and will risk everyone’s lives in doing so.…
Through the characterization of Walton, the narrator, and Victor, Shelley’s Frankenstein depicts the passions fuelled by desire for renown, that drive people to discover, reflecting contextual concerns over scientific irresponsibility. In 1818, there was excitement about both geographical and scientific discovery, with Walton symbolising the former and Frankenstein the latter. Walton’s “great purpose” of discovering a northern passage to facilitate trade parallels Victor’s desire to, “banish disease…and render man invulnerable”. Ironically, despite their voiced altruism, neither are responsible. Imagery depicts Walton endangering his entire crew with his ship trapped in, “irregular plains of ice…no end”. Fortunately, Frankenstein’s story alerts Walton to his irresponsibility and he returns his men to safety. A Revenge Tragedy convention, the deaths of innocents, highlights the destructive capacity of scientific irresponsibility. Frankenstein’s failure to uphold his patriarchal responsibilities expected of a man of his era causes irreparable mistakes bringing William, Elizabeth,…
Robert Walton, I am imparting you with a full report on the creature whom you pursue. Much of this knowledge is already known to you as you have had a close encounter with this individual. We do have new developments and materials recovered from crime scenes and articles left behind by the monster. One particular article is the photo incriminating Justine under circumstantial evidence, the photo of Caroline, Victor’s mother. The purpose of this official document is to summarize what we all ought to know about the criminal to better aid us in our search for the monster.…
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and John Milton’s Paradise Lost have many similarities. This may be due to Mary taking influences from Paradise Lost to add to her story. Paradise Lost is the same as Frankenstein in design by defining man’s place in the universe. They both describe the forces that threaten humankind.…
Both Mary Shelley and Ridley Scott warn of the negative impacts that can come of the need for excessive ambition and control. Shelley composed ‘Frankenstein’ at the time of the Industrial Revolution, witnessing the growth of technology. Through the novel Shelley demonstrates the consequences of personal glory and fame explored through the parallel characters of Walton and Victor. who are blinded by their dreams of glory. Walton’s quest for fame on his expedition to the North Pole threatens the lives of those in his crew. Similarly, Victor whose obsessive desire to challenge the laws of nature through the creation of another life leads to a life of disaster and depression. The consequences of excessive ambition is expressed through Victor’s advice to Walton:…
The pursuit of knowledge is at the heart of Frankenstein, as Victor attempts to surge beyond accepted human limits and access the secret of life. Likewise, Robert Walton attempts to surpass previous human explorations by endeavoring to reach the North Pole. This ruthless pursuit of knowledge, of the light (see “Light and Fire”), proves dangerous, as Victor’s act of creation eventually results in the destruction of everyone dear to him, and Walton finds himself perilously trapped between sheets of ice. Whereas Victor’s obsessive hatred of the monster drives him to his death, Walton ultimately pulls back from his treacherous mission, having learned from Victor’s example how destructive the thirst for knowledge can be.…
The Romantic era took place throughout the 19th century and held the belief that men demonstrate innate goodness, but civilization later corrupts them. Even in today’s society, many political figures, authors, celebrities, and athletes reinforce the Romantic idea of the natural goodness of man and the corruption of man by civilization as they initially exhibit pure values that succumb to the temptations civilization provides. Literature also reflects the belief of the innate goodness of man and the corruption of man by society. For example, Mary Shelley, entails these Romantic beliefs in her novel Frankenstein, in which both Victor Frankenstein and the Creature are born innately good but society later corrupts them. Victor’s,…
The narrative of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is set at various locations around Europe. In the first of his letters sent to his sister, the reader sees that the explorer, Robert Walton, is on a voyage to the North Pole in his ship. The narrative of Frankenstein is relayed from Victor Frankenstein, the man whom Walton discovered, abandoned in a ship. Victor begins by telling of his adolescent life and the formulation of a hideous creature that he ultimately rejects due to his wretched appearance. This leads the creature to commit a series of vengeful crimes on those whom his creator holds dear. The reader learns by the end of the narrative that subsequent to Victor’s death, the creature realizes that he has been deprived of ever finding happiness.…
In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein and the monster that he creates are very similar. Frankenstein being a great man had his wants and needs even though he studied things that people thought to be ungodly and just wrong. Frankenstein creates the monster to be like himself although the monster has super human strength and is almost eight feet tall. Victor worked very hard trying to create the monster not noticing that he was creating the monster in his image.…
Both Walton and Frankenstein wish to establish themselves in the scientific world, and the creature desires to have a companion to fulfill the lack of meaningful relationships in his life. Frankenstein is the only one who truly achieves his ambition, but his achievement has the most devastating consequences. Although Walton never achieves his scientific ambition, he is able to protect his own life and the lives of his crew. The creature’s failure to achieve his goal of companionship causes him to ruin the lives of others, destroying their abilities to achieve their own ambitions. The novel does not serve as a warning against ambition, but as a reminder to think about how the ambition is achieved, and who it may…