Justin Enriquez

Brit. Lit. /Comp.

READING BLOG: Compare the story told by Robert Walton in his letters to his sister to that of the narrator in chapter 1. Focus on character development, relationships (family, friendship, etc.), and societal roles/expectations.

16 January 2014

Two Scientists: Both Geniuses, One Mad

            In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley illustrates two characters in which she shows the true nature of both, as scientists and as regular people involved in real life. By comparing the two, it becomes obvious to the reader that Victor is the evil of the two. On first impressions, the two can be seen as almost identical by the reader due to the many similarities the two have. Eventually, one can see that the two have totally different noble causes in plan as one will better the world while the other will just bring upon another burden to it.

Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein hold many similarities that can be seen. For example, both scientists are in route to accomplishing their own respective noble causes. For Robert Walton, it is exploring the North Pole and imprinting his foot where no other man has done so before while for Victor Frankenstein, it is relieving humanity of death and suffering. Both men show that their sisters are of great significance. This can be seen by both men pursuing their goals and still being capable of maintaining a close relationship with their sisters, of all people hence the letter writing and who they’re directed to. In addition, both men are self-motivating and obsessed with achieving their goals. Moreover, both have desires of having their names etched into history. In Walton’s first letter this is clearly seen as he states,”I shall satiate my ardent curiosity w/ the sight of a part of the world never before visited, and may tread a land never before imprinted by the foot of man”.

As seen both men hold similarities but with these often times come differences. Robert and Victor differ in their motives as Rob is concerned w/ improving existing life while Vic is concerned with almost identical motives but ultimately diluted ones largely due in part to his wild boundless imagination that leads to his unrealistic thoughts. Victor led himself to believe he was “capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter” which will ultimately lead to his demise. Another difference that can be drawn from reading the letters is Rob’s nature of being is totally different than that of Vic’s. For example, Rob often illustrates people as inferior to him and in need of a male companion with the same capacity of intelligence as him. Therefore, the two are different in many ways allowing readers to draw parallels.

My analysis of the two characters from the letters is that Mary Shelley is trying to introduce both sides of scientists that readers can relate to. Firstly she introduces Rob, a scientist whose aim is to improve life, in order to portray the “good” of scientists. Lastly, she introduces Victor who soon becomes a horrible scientist not because of his nature but because of the motives he has and the ultimate consequences they bring. Ultimately, the reader determines which scientist they desire relating to be it the good (Robert Walton) or the evil/mad scientist (Victor Frankenstein).