Letters 1-4 (Walton's POV) - Entry #1

February 8, 2016

Robert Walton, the captain of a ship to the North Pole, is searching for a passageway from the North to the Pacific and he writes his sister, Mrs. Margaret Saville, of his dangerous voyage. “What may not be expected in a country of eternal light? I may there discover the wondrous power which attracts the needle; and may regulate a thousand celestial observations, that require only this voyage to render their seeming eccentricities consistent for ever.” (Shelley 1). However, while Walton is on this expedition, he finds himself lonely and seeking companionship although he cannot find it among his shipmates due to his superiority status as captain and their lack of education or scholarly knowledge. He seems to seek a challenge in both himself for discovery and friendship. His main goal on this voyage, as expressed in Letter I to his sister, “you cannot contest the inestimable benefit which I shall confer on all mankind to the last generation, by discovering a passage near the pole to those countries, to reach which at present so many months are requisite; or by ascertaining the secret of the magnet, which, if at all possible, can only be effected by an undertaking such as mine.” (2). Walton is seems to be portrayed as a romantic in these letters, by his detail to the weather surrounding him as well as the craving to be as knowledgeable and renowned as the scholars and writers before him such as “the names of Homer and Shakespeare” (2) regardless of the dangers that face him.

Meanwhile, the stranger is introduced to the reader as a bit of mystery. First, he is found on the ice starving, sick, and on the verge of death but refuses to get onboard the ship until he is told they are heading for the North Pole. While Walton takes a great liking to the stranger, he nurses him back to health and refuses to allow the other shipmates to pound him with questions. Once the stranger is well enough to speak and is asked “why he had come so far upon the ice in so strange a vehicle? His countenance instantly assumed an aspect of the deepest gloom; and he replied, ‘To seek one who fled from me’” (10). In the obvious description from this quote as well, the stranger is seen as somber and upset. While he is grateful towards Walton for “benevolently [restoring]” (10) him to life, he later tells Walton “I thank you… for your sympathy, but it is useless; my fate is nearly fulfilled.” (13). Walton admiringly describes this stranger to his sister as “Such a man has a double existence: he may suffer misery and be overwhelmed by disappointments, yet, when he has retired into himself, he will be like a celestial spirit, that has a halo around him, within whose circle no grief or folly ventures.” (12).

While Walton and the stranger hold several similarities, there seems to be a great juxtaposition between the two that in turn, gravitates them toward friendship. For example, Walton was seeking intellectual companionship prior to the stranger’s arrival and once upon his arrival, Walton got exactly what he wanted. Similarly, the stranger seems to take a liking to Walton, however being more reserved until the end of Letter IV, when he begins to tell his tale. While Walton is willing to give the stranger every piece of information about himself, the stranger’s reserved quality seems to be as if he’s protecting Walton. On the other hand, Walton confesses that he is willing to give up human life for his own personal gain of success, a path the stranger seems to have taken previously and warns Walton not to do so, otherwise he will end up like him. In terms of what “like him” would mean, that is still unknown and will hopefully be addressed later in the story. Meanwhile, however, the great contrast intermingled with comparison is a wonderful frame within the frame story, as if a parallel is being drawn within a parallel.