Walton is a good person. He has ambition and a desire for discovery, yet balances it with compassion and empathy toward his fellow man. Victor tips that balance the wrong way, and when he realizes it it is too late ... and it costs him everything.
Notable here is one of the many themes of Frankenstein -- the contrast of ice and fire (a Game of Thrones kind of thing). Walton is forging a path through the desolate arctic toward his destiny. Contrast that with Victor, who uses fire (in the form of lightning) as the catalyst toward creation. It is a theme repeated throughout the novel ... i.e. the lightning that splits the tree in Victor's youth vs. the icy glacier where Victor first confronts the Creature.
By the way, I'm putting together a piece on Lord Byron -- "mad, bad and dangerous to know." It was Byron who planted the idea in Mary Godwin (Shelley) for the novel in 1816.
Walton is a good person. He has ambition and a desire for discovery, yet balances it with compassion and empathy toward his fellow man. Victor tips that balance the wrong way, and when he realizes it it is too late ... and it costs him everything.
Notable here is one of the many themes of Frankenstein -- the contrast of ice and fire (a Game of Thrones kind of thing). Walton is forging a path through the desolate arctic toward his destiny. Contrast that with Victor, who uses fire (in the form of lightning) as the catalyst toward creation. It is a theme repeated throughout the novel ... i.e. the lightning that splits the tree in Victor's youth vs. the icy glacier where Victor first confronts the Creature.
By the way, I'm putting together a piece on Lord Byron -- "mad, bad and dangerous to know." It was Byron who planted the idea in Mary Godwin (Shelley) for the novel in 1816.