Explore the presentation of the character of Robert Walton.
‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley is a novel which tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist
who creates a sapient creature (Which goes on to terrorise and murder people) in an unorthodox
scientific experiment. ‘Frankenstein’ opens in an epistolary style, with letters from Captain Robert
Walton to his sister, Margaret. Despite the specific year of the letters being written being left
ambiguous, we do know that they were written somewhen in the 18 th century, a time of exploration
and discovery, tying in with the Romanticism movement/era which emphasized the topics of
adventure, emotion and nature. This links to Walton’s desire to discover the north pole, many of
Walton’s personal
Walton is a man who is initially quite formal and dignified which leads the reader to get the
impression that he is highly educated, but then we learn that he is in fact self-educated and has
insecurities about his education. He believes that he is at a disadvantage in life because of his lack of
a formal education. This is shown through the presentation of the Master through Waltons
perspective, ‘The master is a person of excellent disposition...his gentleness and mildness’. Walton
uses positive adjectives which describe the master as an amazing man who is selfless and
compassionate, and the master's story told by Walton (he was to marry a lady and on his wedding
day he finds out that she is in love with another, upon learning of this the master gives his fortune to
this other man so that she may marry him and left the country so she would not be forced to marry
him by his father) also seems to present the master as a good man in Waltons eyes. But then Walton
says, ‘but then he is wholly uneducated...an ignorant carelessness attends him’. Here we can really
understand Waltons attitude towards education. He believes that the masters actions were
foolhardy purely because he hadn’t had an education, that people who didn’t have educations
couldn’t do good things/wouldn’t amount to great things. His attitude to education reflects the
majority view in society, that a man couldn’t be noble or successful if they didn’t have an education,
which is why Walton doesn’t believe that the Master is good enough to be his friend. This could also
be a reasonable explanation to Waltons overcompensating desperation to prove himself and do
something no other man has ever done, because he believes that he had an unsatisfactory
education.
This links to what could be described as Waltons defining trait, his ambition. Walton is an explorer
and an adventurer, he encompasses the Romantic ideals of the time of discovery, new-worlds and
exploration which meant pushing boundaries and discovering the undiscovered. Walton shows a
child-like glee and excitement regarding his journey to the North Pole, it is clear that he feels free.
This is conveyed through his vocabulary throughout Letter 1, nouns and adjectives like ‘play’,
‘delight’ and ‘beauty’ are used to create a semantic field of anticipation and enthusiasm. This
contrasts to Waltons childhood where he was confined, and his curiosities constricted by his father
who forbid him from exploring the world as he wanted to. However, not only is Walton excited for
the future, but he is also excited for what he is to achieve in the North Pole ‘inspirited by this wind of
promise’ and ‘I may there discover the wonderous power’, this shows his dedication to his goal.
Waltons ambition prepares the reader for Victor Frankenstein who aims to play God and do
something which no other man has just like Walton. Furthermore, Walton encompasses the
Romantic fascination and awe of nature. This is shown by Waltons belief that the Noth Pole will be
some sort of amazing utopia, ‘a country of eternal light’. The noun ‘light’ shows that Walton has very
positive expectations for the North Pole, and it doesn’t seem like thinks that anything will go wrong
This may cause some to think that he is ignorant, however arguably he is more naïve than ignorant.
This was a time of discovery, and no-one had ever explored the North Pole, so no-one could have
known what it would be like and one can hardly fault Walton for wanting to know. Walton’s
