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Summary Notes of Letter 3 of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
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Summary Notes of Letter 3 of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley. Includes summary of events, key sections of analysis and links to The Handmaid's Tale.
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Frankenstein Part 1 Letter 3Plot summary (brief – characters that appear and what happens)
In this short letter, Walton writes briefly to his sister, in order to inform her of his safety having now begun his voyage
north. The weather is warmer than he expected, however, blocks of ice foreshadow the dangers of the north as it gets
ever cold. Walton is convinced that his endeavours will bring him success, that fate will allow him to accomplish what he
desires. As ever, he finishes his letters with a sense of finality which suggest that each letter could be the last one that he
ever writes.
Quotes/ Themes Links to HT
Loneliness and isolation- Walton separates himself quite In Walton’s self-isolation from the domestic sphere, he
distinctly from the domestic sphere, from his home and his attempts to shut himself of from the emotions of the
family. Unlike in letter 2, Walton does not complain of a lack world that he most likely misses, his home and his family,
of companionship and friendship, however he almost and yet we see his emotions coming through ‘heaven
isolates himself in the way that he selfishly reassures himself bless my beloved sister!’ This is similar to the way in
that he, alone, will be successful ‘success shall crown my which Offred attempts to shut herself off emotionally, so
endeavours ’. Here, the use of the surety in the italics ‘shall’ that she doesn’t have to think about her home, and her
and the personal pronoun ‘my’, isolates him from the rest of family, and what may have happened to them. Therefore,
the men on the ship; he makes them seem irrelevant in his the characters can be paralleled through their individual
own personal pursuit for knowledge. isolation from their families.
Relationships and family- In the dates given above each
letter, we are able to see that there is a gap of about two
months between Walton’s second letter and his third.
Thereby, we can infer that Walton is spending an
unimaginably long amount of time away from those he
loves. In a way this could be seen as selfish, in the effect that
it has on others, which also foreshadows Frankenstein’s
separation from his family, and the effect that this has on
them.
Mankind and nature- Walton’s relationship with nature is
very important as it indicates his emotions and feelings
throughout the letters, just as is in Victor Frankenstein’s
account. In this letter, Walton’s positivity is reflected as he
looks optimistically at the weather that they have been
brought ‘the southern gales, which blow us speedily towards
those shores which I so ardently desire to attend, breathe a
degree of renovating warmth which I had not expected’
Warnings- Despite Walton’s pursuit of knowledge, and his
claims that, above all, he shall protect his crew, he is still
clearly rooted in his own personal ambitions ‘the very stars
themselves being witnesses and the testimonies of my
triumph’, his reference to ‘stars’ is reflective of his
egotistical belief that fate will give him what he deserves.
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