Frankenstein!

Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Walton -- Walton is an explorer seeking to find a passage to the North Pole. He dreams of being a famous writer and explorer. He wants the fame and glory associated with being a great writer, and he serves as the narrator of the frame story and relates Frankenstein's tale. Fame can be associated with control, even sometimes absolutely. Maybe this is what Walton is looking for, but don't read too much into it.

Initial Frame Story -- To start off, after Walton's ship gets stuck in ice, they all see the monster, and a little later Victor. They take Victor aboard, as he is really sick. Victor says he expected his story to die with him, but shares the story to teach Walton a lesson (see Letter 4, 2nd paragraph). This is important as Victor sees Walton as someone who stands to learn from his mistakes.

There is a strong connection between Walton and Victor. They both appear to be very ambitious men. It is almost less important what they accomplish as long as they are well known for it. On page 36, the term artist is used to describe Victor instead of a scientist. This is a very telling moment, as if saying that what we conceive of as science is not a one-sided thing but can be as beautiful as art. Perhaps this foreshadows that the monster, though hideous, has some aspect of beauty about it as well?

Another connection with the term artist is that Shelley is discussing how poets, discoverers, scientists, etc. have great visions of grandeur, and what can be wrong with that and critiquing that drive. The novel is an analysis of Victor and his character. The 1831 edition shows a greater obsession with secrets and saying he was fated to end up like he did. This was because Shelly was letting Romantics off the hook because of the deceased poets memories.

"I was fated" - way of self-exonerating. Victor believes this about himself. He uses it to let himself off the hook too easily. Victor describes his childhood as "full" of people, love, education and friends, a very fulfilling and happy childhood.

Yet he was willing to sacrifice his own health, even the possibility of death, in order to see his ambition realized. He doesn't look at the consequences down the road, mostly because they may not even matter. It matters more to him that he does something special than what the actual result is. There is nothing, not death, not failure, not anything, that will stand in his way. He was so caught up in his passion that he felt that life and death were his playthings and that they would have loyalty to him above even a child to their father. It is similar to a God complex. He is going to claim the worship of his creations so completely that they will absolutely adore him.