Walton's letters

• Who is Walton?


  Walton is a mirror for Victor. Like Walton, Victor wants to be the first person to be able to discover life. He is excited about the glory that comes from discovery

  They are searching for a pathway in the Arctic
• What is Walton defined by?

  His hubirs
• ‘With the joy a child feels when he embarks in a little boat, with his holiday mates’


  dismissed the danger for power & pride
• ‘By discovering the passage’


  creation, female body. He is breaking through, violation
• ‘I voluntarily endured cold, famine, thirst and want to sleep’


  sacrifices his health for discovery
• ‘Devoted’


  mirrored in Victor’s creation
• ‘I shall kill no albatross’


  Coleridge reference. The sailor was cursed by killing the albatross, it is a symbol of regret and burden. Walton is willing to acknowledge the bounds of ambition in contrast to Victor
• ‘The shape of a man, but apparently of gigantic stature’


  perspective. From a distance, society accepts the monster, but from up close he is viewed as unnatural. Walton perceives the monster to be somewhat human with unnatural qualities. It is the first time the monster is mentioned and he is attributed with a human identity.
• ‘The die is cast, I have consented to return’


  Walton faces the choice either to continue the journey to kill the monster or to save his friends from the treacherous storm. The difference between Walton and Victor. He decides to turn the ship around as he cannot unwillingly lead his friends to danger for the sake of his own hubris. Whereas, Victor continued the violation. Walton give up his chance of glory for the sake of his crew.
• ‘You may give  up your purpose; but mine is assigned to me by heaven’


  Victor has not learned.  He still has an internalised God complex. He does not understand that Walton has a sense of responsibility and that society is not just about glory. Paints Victor as an outsider too as he does not have a sense of community