Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus

Frankenstein’s frame story closely parallels its main narrative, with Walton’s expedition symbolizing The Dangers of Knowledge. Like Frankenstein, Walton is driven by dual desires to benefit humanity and win personal fame. After a childhood spent reading about Arctic exploration, he aspires to advance the study of magnetics and discover the fabled land rumored to exist at the North Pole—or at least to chart the Northwest Passage linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. However, once his ship reaches the Arctic, the hubris of these desires becomes clear: The ship becomes trapped in ice that nearly crushes it; several crewmembers die from exposure to the extreme cold; and Walton returns to Europe still “ignorant” of the knowledge he sought.

Recognizing the similarities between their two stories, Frankenstein urges Walton not to grieve this “failure” too deeply. Like the main narrative, the frame story suggests that some knowledge is not merely dangerous but forbidden. The novel persistently associates the Arctic with the divine. The continent that Walton hopes to find, the so-called Hyperborea, was conventionally depicted as not only mild in climate but also as a kind of paradise. Walton’s description of it echoes this notion: “There […] snow and frost are banished; and, sailing over a calm sea, we may be wafted to a land surpassing in wonders and in beauty every region hitherto discovered on the habitable globe” (1).