Letters 3 & 4
English Lit: Edexcel A Level Frankenstein, topic 5.1.2
Letter 3
Walton lets Margaret know that the journey is underway and that they are getting nearer to the North Pole.
Progress
- Walton lets Margaret know that the journey is underway and that they are getting nearer to the North Pole.
- Even though they have encountered some extreme weather and superficial damage to the boat, Walton assures his sister that he is not in danger and not to worry.
Unchecked ambition
- "What can stop the determined heart and resolved will of men."
- Shelley is foreshadowing the meeting with Victor and the warning that Walton is about to receive about the unchecked ambition of men.
Letter 4
In Walton’s next letters, he informs his sister of a very strange few days that have occurred out at sea.
Mirroring the Mariner
- Walton tells of his ship being caught up in ice and mist (very similar to The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Coleridge.)
- Later on that day, he and his crew observe the figure of a "gigantic" man travelling across the ice.
- Next morning, they find Victor close to death on a dog sled.
- They bring him aboard and nurse him back to health.
Companionship
- Victor tells Walton that he was pursuing someone across the ice, and Walton feels that he has found the friend he was so longing for.
Victor's tale
- After a few days, Walton writes to his sister to tell her that his companion has listened to his own hopes for the future and grand plans, to which Victor warns him about his own failings, saying: "But I—I have lost everything, and cannot begin life anew."
- Walton promises to write down Victor’s tale, to which the readers are then introduced in the classic novel form of chapters.
Test yourself on Letters 3 & 4
Where is Walton when he is writing his third letter?
Which text does Walton's description of his ship being caught in ice and snow reference?
Who do Walton and his crew see travelling across the ice?
What does Victor tell Walton he was doing?