Robert Walton

Robert Walton is an ambitious explorer and sea captain whose quest to reach the North Pole and make discoveries that will benefit mankind draws him to the Arctic's frozen wastes. When he discovers Victor Frankenstein exhausted and dying on an ice raft, he takes him aboard his vessel, where the two form an unexpected bond. Walton becomes Victor Frankenstein's confidant and, ultimately, his chosen auditor—the one to whom the dying man entrusts his terrible story. Over the course of a week, as Victor Frankenstein narrates the history of his creation and the creature's vengeance, Walton finds himself drawn into a tale of such overwhelming horror and majesty that it transforms his understanding of ambition itself.

When his crew, terrified by the Arctic ice and mutinous in their fear, demands that Walton abandon his expedition and return southward, he almost acquiesces—until Victor Frankenstein delivers an impassioned speech on the glory of enduring danger for the sake of human advancement. For a moment, Walton is inspired, but he ultimately recognizes that he cannot in conscience force his men toward certain death. Victor Frankenstein's death shortly thereafter, combined with the appearance of the grieving creature over his master's coffin, confirms the wisdom of Walton's more cautious choice. He returns to England bearing Victor Frankenstein's manuscript, sadder but wiser, having learned that even apparently innocent ambition can lead to ruin.