There is much gothic typicality in the fourth letter, when at the beginning of his story Frankenstein proclaims:
“Prepare to hear of occurrences which are usually deemed marvellous.”
Walton’s last comment in letter four is equally foreboding:
“Strange and harrowing must be his story, frightful the storm which embraced the gallant vessel on its course and wrecked it – thus!”
I think these statements are small insights to the tale that is about to unfold – they prepare us for the horror of Victor’s story.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was written at the time of the Romantic Movement; characterized by innovation (rather than traditionalism), spontaneity (Shelley was brought up in Geneva where freedom of expression was important), an idealisation of nature and the belief of living in an age of new beginnings and high possibilities. All of these characteristics are found early on in the novel – in Walton’s letters, the discovery of the North Pole being the innovation and new beginning. In this novel, the Romanticism significantly complements the Gothic genre.
Robert Walton is a Romantic, with a thirst to express his intense imaginings and daydreams to companion. His dreams of exploration were first inspired by poems and stories and childish fantasies at a young age.
As Walton prepares for his journey to the North Pole, the beauty of nature in St. Petersburg seem to him a hint of how the ‘new world’ will look when he gets there. His excitement is heightened by the brisk and picturesque world around him. However, his beautiful surroundings are also very perilous, and end up being the reason he has to return.
Walton describes Frankenstein as completely broken-down by grief, but still able to appreciate the natural beauty of the world around him, which seems remarkable. A man destroyed by sorrow can still look up at the night sky and feel some sense of relief, happiness, or awe at the fabulous beauty that surrounds him:
“Even broken in spirit as he is, no one can feel more deeply than he does the beauties of nature. The starry sky, the sea, and every sight afforded by these wonderful regions, seems still to have the power of elevating his soul.”
This appreciation of beauty in a novel so filled with brutality seems an odd contrast, but is elementary for the distinct natural settings that we will come across in the novel, all corresponding to the emotions of the characters involved. The North Pole is a suitably cold, desolate and isolated setting for the meeting of Walton, Victor and the daemon.
Mary Shelley also had very liberal religious views. At the time she wrote Frankenstein, Catholicism was very oppressing and she was very against it. In his letters, Walton wishes to discover things that will benefit mankind. We later find out he shares this ‘godlike’ ambition with Frankenstein. Shelley uses biblical language to emphasise this:
“Heaven shower down blessings on you.”
“He will be like a celestial spirit that has a halo around him.”
“…elevates me to heaven.”
Walton seems to be playing God or somebody of high divinity by generously giving out ‘heavenly’ phrases. This is quite foreboding, as the oppressiveness in the historical context also suggests that all is not well. This is backed up by Walton acting against his father’s dying injunction; not to embark in a seafaring life. This is not a very ‘divine’ thing to do. This is an underlying theme at this early stage in the novel, but as Victor confesses his story of playing God, we realise that this theme mutely prepares us for the tale that is about to unfold.
The desire to find out the unknown and to be the first to discover the unseen is a tragic flaw of both Walton and the Victor Frankenstein, and from the very first letter, the theme of glory is heavily established. Walton states:
“I preferred glory.”
Of course there are only a select few who have achieved this timeless goal, yet those who pursue it are encouraged by the immortality and recognition awarded to the victorious. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a literary rumination of the quest for glory, Walton’s discovery of the North Pole being the backdrop for the tale of the title character’s pursuit of the knowledge of life.
Although the field of discovery is different for each character, they are bound by an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Each man avidly desires to unveil the indefinite, selfishly to provide them with immortality by the means of eternal fame. Glory was the downfall of Frankenstein, and is a potentially dangerous failing in Walton’s character:
“But success shall crown my endeavours.”
This is included in the first letter to ignite the excitement of the reader at an early stage, urging them to discover the outcome of this character.
The blindness involved in Walton’s pursuit of recognition is also indicative of the horror that is to come. As the leader of a dangerous expedition, he is responsible for the lives of other men. His fervent longing for glory endangers those men as he overlooks moral and even rational perceptions of what is possible and what is not. He seems naïve of morality, and plans to succeed even at the cost of human life because he considers this discovery worth such a sacrifice:
“One man’s life or death is but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge which I sought.”
His shipmates however, do not agree:
"The men, unsupported by ideas of glory and honour, can never willingly continue to endure their present hardships."
Walton's egocentricity becomes apparent as he never once asks about his sister's well being, despite the fact that he has not seen her for a number of years. Later as we hear Frankenstein’s story, we find that this element in Walton’s character is also mirrored in his own, as he disregards his family for years as he experiments with the principle of life.
Because he has overcome a minor problem on his expedition (the leakage) he becomes overconfident and believes that he can overcome any obstacles of nature:
“Why not still proceed over the untamed yet obedient element?”
As Walton talks to him, Frankenstein immediately recognises the fatal defects of Walton’s character that were so much like his own. He then begins to confide his story to Walton, in hopes of dissuading him from his aims:
“You may deduce an apt moral from my tale; one that may direct you.”
The reader then can deduce that Frankenstein’s story is one of misused ambition to gain recognition. We can then “prepare to hear of occurrences which are usually deemed marvellous.”
Friendship is an important theme in Frankenstein. Walton reveals his worries about loneliness in his letters to his sister:
“I have no friend, Margaret.”
Many of the main characters are yearning for a close relationship with another, in fact, it is friendship (or lack of) that drives the monster to his brutal conduct. The setting of the scene on the relationship front is therefore vital to prepare us for the isolation of the main character who is yet to be fully exposed.
As a key gothic theme, isolation is something that is continued throughout Walton's letters. It is played upon a lot, and is very ironic:
“I shall certainly find no friend on the wide ocean.”
We then find that he meets Frankenstein:
“For my own part, I begin to love him as a brother.”
This new friendship at the beginning of the novel is indicative of the unfortunate outcomes of Frankenstein’s relationships, and now he accepts his isolation as a reprimand for his old ways; he was so wrapped up in his studies that he isolated himself from his family and friends. We begin to wonder if this will be the destiny of Walton, as he also is not in a state of total isolation (he has many likeable people around him but he is impartial towards them) yet he brings it upon himself. He already finds himself in solitude, with “no friend on the wide ocean.” There is no need for this. Both characters have not realised they were isolating themselves. The moral to Frankenstein’s story reveals this to Walton. The relationship between Walton and his crew mirrors the relationship between Victor and his creation.
Although Walton’s letters are very long-winded and include details which his sister would surely already know, they prepare us very well for the tale that is about to unfold. We have many themes that are apparent in the early stages of the book - even if they are underlying, and the Gothic Romantic genre is displayed well.
We also have a good insight to the overall plot of the story; Walton’s sightings of a “man of gigantic stature” fit nicely together with Frankenstein’s pursuit of the “one who fled from me.” Whether this is a good or bad thing, that is for the individual to decide.
There are faults in the letters, however. Mary Shelley has a very amateur style of writing which is very apparent in certain phrases. As a woman writing for the point of view of a male character, she doesn’t seem to capture a very masculine ‘voice:’
“His full-toned voice swells in my ears; his lustrous eyes dwell on me with all their melancholy sweetness.”
“Being even now in wreck so attractive an amiable.”
“My affection for my guest increases each day. He excites at once my admiration and my pity to an astonishing degree.”
It is in these examples that a male’s (Walton’s) description of another male (Victor) aren’t entirely convincing. Shelley’s age and gender become apparent and we realise that she isn’t a very experienced author, and can’t relate to the colloquial style of men whilst writing, although she wasn’t deprive of male company in the slightest even at the young age (18) she was when she wrote Frankenstein. She was married at the time.
However, this fault is probably due to her youth and inexperience, and is hardly mentionable given that Frankenstein is often perceived as one of the greatest Gothic novels ever written.
