Character Analysis Of Robert Walton In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein '

English explorer, Robert Walton, is another character used by Mary Shelley to contribute to the theme. The readers meet Robert Walton at the very beginning of the book with the letters. Robert, like Victor, has this strong desire to pursue further knowledge. He wants to discover the world and find places that have never been discovered by humans. Robert’s main goal of his expedition is to reach the North Pole. He starts off by telling his sister in one of his letters “Do you understand this feeling? This breeze, which has traveled from the regions towards which I am advancing, gives me a foretaste of those icy climes” (Shelley 10). Robert is astonished by the beauty of nature that surrounds him and the world. These aspects inspire him to continue

his expedition. He is determined to make a new discovery. Robert then continues to explain his strong desire when he says “I shall satiate my ardent curiosity with the sight of a part of the world never before visited, and may tread a land never before printed by the foot of man” (Shelley 11). Robert feels like he needs to continuously justify his curiosity to his sister because he knows it is not realistic for him to be able to travel all the way to the North Pole successfully. The fact that no human has set foot on the North Pole is what makes Robert’s desire so strong. He wants to be the first person to ever visit such a mystical place. He wants to be the one to contribute his knowledge to society with something he had discovered. His journey does not end all that great. Something bad happens along the way and he finds himself trapped between ice sheets with no way around it. Finally, Walton puts an end to his gruesome expedition when him and his crew find Victor Frankenstein, weak and weary, stranded among the ice floes.