Robert Walton

"I try in vain to be persuaded that the pole is the seat of frost and desolation; it ever presents itself to my imagination as the region of beauty and delight"

- Letter 1

Robert Walton is a major character in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. He is a seafarer who is a friend and caregiver to Victor Frankenstein.

He is also the chief narrator who tells his sister back home the tragic tale of Frankenstein when he learns it all from the weak, dying man he rescues while he wants to make his own discoveries.

Description
Robert Walton is a lot like the titular character, Victor Frankenstein. He is ambitious and wants to do a daring task that no one else has ever done before. But he didn't think of the consequences he had made that he would have regretted later on. He makes his way up to the Arctic Circle, where many of his crew members die. He comes across Victor on the brink of death and hears an unimaginable story even he wouldn't attempt.

Although he is lesser-known of all the characters in Frankenstein, he's still important for some reasons. Not only does he share the same traits as Victor, but the majority of the whole novel is him written down in letters back at home. He provides the reader some important information about Victor and the Monster as well as a deeper meaning to his friend's foolish and dangerous obsession that would prevent Walton for carrying out the same ambition.

Arriving at the Arctic
On December 11, according to his first letter to his sister Margaret Seville back at home in London, Robert Walton prepares an expedition to the Arctic Circle when he arrives in St. Petersburg, Russia. He walks through the streets, freezing from the cold but bringing him delight; as the winter breeze gives him an example of his ambitions. He can’t imagine the harsh dangers of the Arctic, but believes it is a delightful place, where the sun is forever visible. He is confident he is able to make the trip with the help of some trustworthy navigators; where there are no snow and frost, imagines sailing on a calm sea, and be surrounded by the beauty of nature in the North Pole. Walton hopes he would travel to new territories where nobody has explored before, investigate the origins of the North Pole’s magnetism, and learn about astronomical features that would be an important mission for mankind. He is filled with enthusiasm imagining his goals.

Walton recalls to Margret that he has always dreamed of going on an expedition into the Arctic has been his childhood dream.

In his second letter, dated March 28th from Archangel, Russia, Walton prepares a ship and hires sailors. But he admits that he is often lonely and doesn't have a friend. He praises his crew for their loyalty, but doesn't consider them to be his friends and hopes to have someone who will help him learn, celebrate his victories and comfort him from his defeats. He also fears that his sensitivity would make him unprepared for the harsh brutality of his upcoming journey. He confesses of his romance "for the marvellous" which would push him for his path towards the dangers of the sea.

Meeting Victor Frankenstein
His third letter, dated on July 7th, Walton describes his expedition as successful so far. His ship is getting close to the North Pole, while he and his crew spot sheets of ice, despite the nice weather. The ice suggests the harsh conditions further ahead, but reassures his sister that they wouldn't encounter any danger. On July 31st in a fourth letter, Walton's ship gets stuck around large sheets of ice. He and his men then spot a giant man on a dogsled speeding across the ice floes before disappearing from view. The next morning, Walton and the crew spot another man on a dogsled going across the ice; except this man is smaller and is near death from exposure. He refuses to board the ship until Walton tells him they were going up North, and brings him onboard.

The crew look after the stranger for about 2 days until he regains his strength and able to speak. The sailors are curious about the man they have looked after, but Walton prevents his crew from asking the stranger questions for the state of his fragile health. Before long, he befriends the man and even starts to love him as a brother as well as the friend he thought would never have on his expedition. He tells the stranger that he is on a quest for knowledge, which upsets the man and reveals that he had just lost everything and plans on ending his life. This makes Walton curious and would like to know why the stranger is so sensitive to nature.

The next day, the stranger decides to tell Walton his story that would either help him go further in his quest or persuade him to give up; although the captain is still determined on his destiny. He writes to Margaret that he will record the stranger's story in a narrative.

Victor's Story
The stranger introduces himself as Victor Frankenstein in his tale, and as Walton listens, his narrative switches to Victor's point of view.

Victor had grown up in Geneva, Switzerland and lived a happy, innocent life with his friend Henry Clerval and adoptive cousin Elizabeth Lavenza, who his parents hoped would marry one day. Having a fascination with science and alchemy, Victor enrolls at the University of Ingolstadt where he gets very focused at his studies and is convinced he had discovered the secret of life. He spends months secretly constructing a humanoid creature but when he restores it to life, he flees in terror and wanders around Ingolstadt where he meets Clerval. He falls feverishly ill and Clerval spends months nursing his friend back to health.

After Victor recovers, he receives news from back home that his youngest brother William has been murdered. He quickly returns to Geneva, where a family friend Justine Moritz has been accused of killing William. Despite the Frankenstein's trying to prove her innocence, Justine is tried and executed and Victor becomes distraught. After he travels to the Alps with his family, Victor goes for a walk when he meets his creation who makes him listen to his own story. At this part, the main narration turns to the Monster.

The Monster woke up clueless and confused without knowing the basics of survival and daily elements. He frightens the humans with his ugly appearance and took shelter in a hovel next to a cottage, where he observes the lives of the De Lacey's, once a wealthy family from France and now living in exile. For months, the Monster learns to talk by their language and learns about humanity and society. He teaches himself to read with some books he found and even sees his own ugly reflection. He tries to bond with the De Lacey's, but ends up scaring them away and leaving him disappointed. He vows revenge on his creator for causing his miserable existence, as he travels to Geneva where he kills William and frames Justine.

Back in Victor's narration, the Monster pleads to his creator to make him a female companion. Victor nearly resents the idea, but the Monster threatens to kill more people if he refuses, so Victor accepts his request. He travels through Europe with Clerval before arriving in England. Victor leaves Clerval behind as he goes to the Scottish Orkney Islands to make the female monster. He fears of the consequences when the two monsters are together and he ends up destroying the unfinished creature. The Monster is angry at what he did, and warns his creator he will "be with him on his wedding night".

Victor disposes the remains and his boat ends up in Ireland. He is accused of the death of Clerval, whose body was found nearby and the Monster had killed him. He breaks down mentally until his father came to his rescue. Victor was acquitted and he and his father return to Geneva. He marries Elizabeth but on his wedding night, the Monster murders his bride and his father died of grief shortly afterwards. Now that he has lost everyone he loved, Victor dedicates his whole life to finding the Monster and destroying it. He pursues it across the globe until they arrive in the Arctic on dog sleds. Victor was catching up until the ice between them breaks, leaving him stranded and on the brink of death, where Walton's crew find him.

The narrative returns to Walton's point of view. After completing his story and knowing he is dying, Victor makes Walton promise that if he dies, he will kill the Monster for him if he sees it.

Walton Gives Up/Leaving the Arctic
Walton sends another letter to Margaret dated on August 26. He tells her that he believes in Victor's tale as he and his crew had spotted the Monster before rescuing his friend and he had shown him letters written by the De Lacey's. He also recalls how Victor described himself being victimized by ambition which made him lose hope and Walton laments on how he didn't know Victor when he could have been a real friend to him. As Victor does accept the captain's friendship, his remaining goal is to still finish off the Monster.

He asks his friend of how he made his creation but he refuses to tell him. Victor has also edited and corrected the captain's notes he wrote while listening to his narrative. Throughout the week, both men talked about different subjects, and Victor tries to teach his friend some lessons he had learned from his failed ambition.

On September 2nd in the second letter, the ship is trapped entirely around the ice and Walton tells Margaret he and his crew are in danger. He blames himself for letting this happen and that his crew may die because of his foolish actions. He also fears the men will revolt against him. 3 days later on September 5th, the crew demand the captain to turn the ship around as soon as the ice clears away and leave the North Pole. Walton thinks he can't let them down, while Victor tells the crew that their glory and bravery would motivate them to continue their quest. The sailors are moved by his speech while Walton worries about it temporarily. He says he would rather die than return home with his goal unfulfilled.

On September 7th dated in the third letter, Walton finally agrees to turn the ship around and go back South when there is less ice around it. He considers what had just happened as injustice.

In the final letter dated September 12th, the ship is leaving the Arctic. Walton is disappointed that his hopes and expectations have been shattered, while Victor is now at death's door. He tells Walton that he did well into trying to protect humanity and again reminds him of his promise to finish off the Monster. Then he passes away quietly.

A few days later, Walton interrupts the letter when he hears a noise inside the cabin where Victor's body lies. He enters where he sees the Monster weeping over his creator's body. The captain calls him a "wretch" but the Monster didn't act surprised, since he had been rejected from the beginning. Walton listens as the Monster talks about its suffering, regretting being evil, and is ready to die now that his creator is dead. The Monster jumps off overboard and Walton watches it walk away up northernmost until it disappears into the misty darkness.

Personality/Appearance
Walton is an ambitious, determined and motivated sea captain who is wanting to pursue his knowledge in exploring the Arctic Circle and finding any discoveries. Like Victor Frankenstein, Walton would do anything to push the boundaries and nothing can stop him to achieve his goal. He believes that his ambition will be a benefit on humanity and for later generations. He hoped he would be remembered as the first person to step foot in the North Pole and is willing to sacrifice himself to do so, and with him being self-educated, he knew that with his learning he can make his journey a success from his past failures. He is often consumed with his fascination for his quest, and so much so, that it can be attributed to his arrogance. He places his crew's life at risk as they venture into the treacherous Arctic and would have wanted to press on hadn't he saved Victor and told him his story that eventually allowed him to give in to abandon his quest. Walton can be stubborn when he insists on wanting to accomplish his mission and in the end, he realizes what he had nearly done was a foolish idea. In addition, however, he has become the first person to had documented the tragic tale of Victor Frankenstein and his creation that not only had fascinated him and his sister, but possibly to the whole world, too.

Walton is also lonely, since he has desires to have a friend after he departs on his expedition. He longs for a companion who would understand and emphasize with him, and after he brings Victor onto his ship to look after him, he feels like he had found the friend he had always wanted. Even if he developed a friendship with Victor, Walton would only knew him by his story and for sharing the same passion.

After he was forced to abandon his goal and go back South, Walton was ashamed and disappointment, evening considering his failure to have been "injustice". He felt like he had failed to do his duty for humanity, but had also became aware of his limits. His friend Victor had lost everything important to him and died trying to end his creation, while Walton had survived after he hears the young man's words of lost innocence and isolation. He even understands more about this after he sees the Monster talk about his suffering before ending his life, and may had finally got the idea that extreme ambitions and goals can be dangerous.

Relationships
Margaret Seville- Walton's sister. She lives in England where he is from and throughout the majority of the novel, he would write letters to her describing his adventure as well as the story of Victor Frankenstein and even the Monster's tale. He often expresses his feeling of loneliness to Margaret and even offers sympathy to Victor's suffering.

Victor Frankenstein- A young scientist who Walton saves while attempting to explore the Arctic. He looks after him onboard and listens to his whole story that convinces the captain to make the choice of putting his own life at risk or give up his task. He even becomes friends with Victor.

The Monster- The hideous creature Walton's friend Victor talks about in his story. The captain doesn't actually meet the Monster until in the ending, where he finds him mourning over his creator's body and he had been racked with suffering, loneliness and evil throughout his life before he plans to ends his life abruptly.