Goelz post #1: Frankenstein

The similarities between Walton and Frankenstein are incredibly apparent throughout the first half of the book, for they share an innate sense of curiosity and inquisitiveness that spurs their thirst to learn. Walton seems to be a younger version of Frankenstein, for he is just beginning the adventure of life, whereas Frankenstein's is coming to a close. In Walton's fourth letter, he says, "I spoke of my desire of finding a friend - of my thirst for a more intimate sympathy with a fellow mind than had ever fallen to my lot; and expressed my conviction that a man could boast of little happiness, who did not enjoy this blessing. 'I agree with you,' replied the stranger; 'we are unfashioned creatures, but half made up, if one wiser, better, dearer than ourselves - such a friend ought to be - do not lend his aid to perfection ate our weak and faulty natures' (pg. 12)." Although this is a more specific example of the two men sharing a common interest, it can be interpreted as the idea that they both want to be challenged and stimulated by other humans and see what the world has to offer. Walton often speaks of Frankenstein as remarkably interesting but broken in some regard. In Walton's first letter, when he is explaining to his sister the excitement he feels about venturing into the world, 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 imprinted by the foot of man" (pg. 1). This desire to encounter something never experienced before is what drove Frankenstein to create his monster. He says, "None but those who have experienced them can conceive of the enticements of science. In other studies you go as far as others have gone before you, and there is nothing more to know; but in a scientific pursuit there is continual food for discovery and wonder" (pg. 30). The two characters clearly share the urge to venture forth on the road less traveled, which is their strongest shared quality. In Frankenstein's case, the outcome of this drive has been progressive yet unhealthy. The man we meet at the beginning of the book is resigned and defeated, clearly a result of his obsessive curiosity. We don't know much about Walton, but it seems that he has the potential to learn from the scientist's mistakes and rethink this sweeping sense of untamed curiosity. From this, he can construct a path that doesn't end in negativity and depression.