In what ways do Walton's letters at the start of the novel help engage the reader's interest and prepare them for what is to come?

The first 200 words of this essay...

Frankenstein Essay:

In what ways do Walton's letters at the start of the novel help engage the reader's interest and prepare them for what is to come?

Walton's letters are a vital and integral part of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein. They deal with many issues of character and theme which are present within the main body of the novel.

The letters are written by intrepid British explorer to his sister who is living in Britain Mrs. Saville. The letters tell the tale of Walton's experiences in the arctic and of his strange meeting with a man on the ice, who we find out to be Victor Frankenstein.

The letters which Walton uses are a narrative framework to the story, and therefore an introduction of sorts. The first thing that requires discussion within the letters is the setting in which Walton finds himself when he is writing these letters. Shelley chose for Walton to be writing the letters from cold desolate and perhaps most significantly isolated land. By setting the scene in such a place she is causing presumptions to be made about the novel and casting it in a certain light.