Towards the end of Robert Walton's letters, Victor
notices a spark in Walton's eyes that he once had when he sought
ultimate knowledge. Victor shows compassion to Robert by telling him the story
of how he ended up in the cold isolated arctic, he explains "I have suffered great
and unparalleled misfortune…I had determined once that the memory of these
evils should die with me; but you have won me to altar my determination” (Shelley
17). It seems that Victor is trying to prevent what happened to him from
happening to Robert. He sees the longing for knowledge that Robert has and the
same sense of ambition and not knowing when to draw the line between desire and
obsession. He feels that Robert can, and will end up like him by alienating
himself from his family and abandoning social ties. I believe Victor feels
compelled to save Robert from himself which would lead to loneliness,
isolation, depression and ultimately his death. This is apparent when he says
to Robert “You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently
hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you as
mine have been. I do not know that the relation of my misfortunes will be
useful to you, yet, if you are inclined, listen to my tale” (Shelley 17).This
can also be considered as foreshadowing for the up and coming events that take
place in Victors story as well as Roberts journey.http://benstewart.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/goals-frank.jp
I think it's crazy how similar the three characters of Frankenstein, Walton, and the Monster are when it comes to gaining knowledge. All three seem to become obsessed when presented with knew knowledge. Even after all the stress that came with creating the Monster, when Frankenstein goes back for a second attempt at creating life, he goes right back to fighting the obsessive behavior he showed the first time. He says "Sometimes I could not prevail on myself to enter my laboratory for several days; and at other times I toiled day and night in order to complete my work. It was indeed a filthy process in which I was engaged" (Shelley 113). He even goes on to talk about how this time he was more cold-blooded about the process, but to me that just makes his obsession even more delusional.
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