In the beginning of Frankenstein, Captain Walton writes a letter to Mrs. Saville. In this letter he recalls the words of Victor Frankenstein, “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 has been” (p.17). Captain Walton yearns to learn what Victor meant by this and I believe it’s the most precious piece of advice Walton ever received.
Frankenstein was giving Walton a warning. He didn’t want the Captain to follow in his footsteps of despair and misfortunes. Walton is on a mission much like Frankenstein’s that could make his life just as terrible. I think Frankenstein believes that Walton could become his own monster. Instead of creating another being, Walton could become the monster that Frankenstein so greatly fears.
I believe Frankenstein is reflecting on his past when he says the words about knowledge to Walton. I believe he was thinking about the way things used to be and the way things could have been if he never would of created the monster. When Frankenstein arrived at the college, he was naive, but he was very smart, healthy and happy. He became obsessed with his work and wouldn’t stop until his creation was complete. This deteriorated his health to a very poor state. If Frankenstein would have given up on the monster from the beginning, he wouldn’t have gone through the bouts of poor health and he wouldn’t be the wretched man he was before he died. He caused his family and friends grief, despair and even in some cases, death.
lton doesn’t make a huge mistake and ruin his life, just like Frankenstein did. He had no one to lead him away from such a grave
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