Compare And Contrast Victor And Walton

There is often a danger in wanting to have too much of anything. Whether it be medicine, food, fame, or even learning. All of those components can be disastrous when abused. The novel “Frankenstein,” written by Mary Shelley, uses different frames to portray exactly how much is too much. Mary Shelley uses Victor Frankenstein’s story as a cautionary tale to show Robert Walton and the readers the pursuit of forbidden knowledge will destroy lives.

Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton are created with the intention to make them almost the exact same person. Both men search for fame, yet refer to it as a, “quest for knowledge.” Unfortunately the need for fame leads to an over-dedication to research, obsessive tendencies, and injuring those who

In fact, no matter how similar two people seem each person’s experiences will never be exactly the same. Frankenstein and Walton each seem to have a similar path to travel, however Walton seems to have it easier. Walton has just begun his journey when he runs into his first obstacle when he meets Frankenstein, who tells Walton he is, “pursuing the same course, exposing [himself] to the same dangers which have rendered [Frankenstein] what [he] is…”(23) When Frankenstein first begins tampering with the natural laws of life and death, no one comes around to advise him against defying the laws to create a creature. Instead Frankenstein debates against his conscious, thinking, “When I found so astonishing a power placed within my hands, I hesitated a long time concerning the manner in which I should employ it.”(43) After deciding to play God, Frankenstein has to deal with the consequences thrown at him. Meanwhile,Walton benefits from finding Frankenstein on the ice, because his curious nature drives him to want to listen to Frankenstein’s story. At the end of the novel Frankenstein pleads to Walton, “ Peace, peace! Learn my miseries and do not seek to increase your own.” (177) A man who learns firsthand of the dangerous cost of pursuing forbidden knowledge tells Walton how much the expedition will damage his life in the long run. Author Barbara Witucki uses frankenstein’s pleas to state, “[Walton] is urged not to seek person glory and reward, but to fulfill duties to kinsman and country.”