Walton and Frankenstein are incredibly similar people, with their main desires being to push the bounds of known science. Walton wants to find out something about magnets (how do they work?!), while Frankenstein wants to reanimate tissue that once contained life. Although their goals are very, very different, the drive is the same. Walton's quote of "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," (Page 1) is almost identical to Frankenstein's quote of "So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein, - more, far more, will I achieve: treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown to the world the deepest mysteries of creation." (Page 28) As if this didn't make their urges comparable, Mary Shelley's choice to use a form of the word "ardour" on almost every page pretty much solidifies it (seriously, why the hell does she do that?). Even though it cannot yet be determined if their drives are healthy - seeing as how plenty of modern scientific marvels have been discovered by some crazy dude in a lab somewhere - considering that Frankenstein creates a literal monster out of dead flesh, it can be assumed that Shelley didn't think so. But who knows? Maybe Frankenstein and his daemon will become total bros by the end, and teach people not to judge others based on their appearance. Unless, of course, that person is Alex Gordon. Then, anybody should feel free to judge him as the treacherous, backstabbing, maggot he looks like he is.
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