continue north. In the morning, Walton is surprised to see the crew speaking to a man adrift on a fragment of ice. Though he has a sledge and dogs, this is clearly not the same man as the one who sped by the day before. Walton is further astonished when the stranded man wants to know where the ship is headed. When he learns they are sailing for the north pole, he agrees to come on board, and Walton and the sailors carry his emaciated, nearly frozen body into the cabin.

For two days, the mysterious traveler is unable to speak. Walton eventually brings him into his own cabin and reports that he finds this melancholy, tormented man fascinating. More mysterious still is the stranger’s admission that he has been pursuing the other, gigantic man, whom he calls “the daemon.” After hearing that Walton and the sailors saw the object of his pursuit, the stranger becomes much more animated and wants to keep watch on deck, but Walton persuades him to stay in the cabin and rest. He tells Margaret that although he previously despaired of ever finding a true friend, he has begun to feel a brotherly love for this strange man, whose grief fills Walton with compassion.

On August 13, Walton writes that his affection for the stranger—whose name, though he has not yet revealed it, is Victor Frankenstein—continues to grow. While he admires Victor’s wisdom and gentle manners, he also feels pity for his grief. Walton describes his willingness to sacrifice everything in order to gain the knowledge he seeks in the Arctic, and Victor begins to weep, telling the captain he has a tale that would make him abandon his ambitions. After this outburst, however, Victor recovers himself and urges Walton to speak more about his own life. He is sympathetic to Walton’s yearning for a friend and says he once had such a friend himself, but now he has lost everything. Walton says that in spite of his sadness, Victor possesses a deep appreciation for the beauty of nature and an intelligence that elevates him above anyone Walton has ever met.

In the letter’s last entry, on August 19, Walton writes that Victor has decided to tell him his story in the hopes that the captain might learn from it. Walton at first hoped he might be able to help Victor once he knew his history, but Victor maintains that, while there is still time for Walton to change his course, his own fate is sealed. Nevertheless, Walton looks forward with curiosity and sympathy to hearing his guest’s tale. He resolves to record the story in Victor’s own words, both for Margaret and for himself.

Analysis

Walton’s letters to Margaret serve as a framing device for the narrative that follows. Incredible as Victor’s story will turn out to be, the letters lend it a sense of authenticity as well as wonder. Walton’s writing shows him to be a practical, intelligent, sensitive individual and therefore a reasonably reliable narrator.

Moreover, the letters establish the first of several parallels that will be important throughout the novel: the parallel between Victor’s story and Walton’s. Walton, whose quest for the secrets of the Arctic is fueled as much by his imagination and emotions as by his desire for discovery and knowledge, is a Romantic figure; he quotes the Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (whose “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” will reappear later in the novel), laments his own failed attempt to become a poet, and confesses to a belief in the “marvelous.” The Romantic qualities that so captivate him in Victor—sensitivity, deep feeling, expressiveness, a spiritual affinity for the beauty of nature—reflect his own values and traits.

While Walton feels great compassion for his guest’s grief, Victor feels perhaps even greater compassion and concern for Walton. He recognizes that the captain is driven by the same dangerous desire to achieve dominance over the forces of nature that brought his own life to utter ruin, and he is able to sympathize with Walton’s yearning for a close friend precisely because he had such a friend and lost him. In his guest, Walton has found a man he believes could have been the kind of friend he longs for, if only Victor’s spirit hadn’t been broken by suffering. Ironically, it is this very experience of suffering that allows Victor, through the telling of his story, to provide the kind of sympathetic advice Walton longs to receive—albeit in the form of a terrible warning. Both the longing for companionship and the folly of attempting to control natural forces will remain major themes in Frankenstein.

It is also significant that Victor appears to be, like Walton, upper-class. Much as he might admire the bravery, skill, and even kindness of his crew—or lament the informality of his own education—the wealthy, well-read captain does not expect to find a true kindred spirit among working-class sailors.