Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus

In a letter to his sister Mrs. Margaret Saville, in December of a year in the 18th century, Robert Walton writes that he arrived in St. Petersburg safely and that he is confident in his “undertaking” (1). He describes the cold wind, which feels like a “wind of promise” (1). He cannot imagine that the North Pole, to which he is headed, “is the seat of frost and desolation,” instead believing it must be a “region of beauty and delight,” a place where “the sun is forever visible” (1). He expects great wonder in this land of “eternal light” (1) and hopes to “satiate [his] ardent curiosity with the sight of a part of the world never before visited” (2). These thoughts prevent him fearing danger. He hopes to “discover a passage near the pole” that will allow travel between countries, and he anticipates “the inestimable benefit which [he] shall confer on all mankind” (2).

Walton has wanted to take this voyage since he was a child. He read voraciously as a child even though he did not receive a strong education. The decision to go to the North Pole was made six years ago when he traveled with whale-fishers to the North Sea.