Also, does this bromance remind you of Gatsby and Nick in any way?
Tell me about Robert Walton and the stranger, and how both characters fit the mold of the Byronic hero. You may also wish to discuss your reactions to these characters. How do you feel about them, their motivations, their emotions, and etc.?
Also, does this bromance remind you of Gatsby and Nick in any way?
18 Comments
Becky Fesenmaier
11/5/2015 09:24:23 am
Do you guys think that Victor's mother is completely crazy for wanting her son and daughter to get married? Isn't that a little much to put upon anyone as your "death wish"? Even if Elizabeth is adopted and Victor and his sister aren't blood related I still think it's pretty creepy that that is even thought about. I feel like it would just make things very uncomfortable.
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Rachel Franzen
11/6/2015 06:19:22 am
Becky, I totally agree with you on this. I think that it is so creepy. I also think that it puts a lot of pressure on both Victor and Elizabeth as well because it was the mother's dying wish that they get married. What if they did not like each other in that way? They would both probably feel terrible if they didn't get married, but also would probably not be as happy if they did. I know that is not the case, but it is just something else to think about. I also find it creepy when Victor talks about Elizabeth in the book. He calls her his "more than sister" and that just really makes me uncomfortable. I know that it was a common thing to marry a relation in this era, and I know they are not really related, but it still is just super weird to me because they grew up together as siblings.
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11/6/2015 09:28:11 pm
I do not agree with you on this Becky. I did not find it crazy or creepy in the slightest. I found that since Elizabeth was not actually blood related to Victor that it was not a weird thing. This is especially true when I think about the time period when this book was written, and the fact that this probably was not a rare thing. And I feel like the whole "death wish" thing was not a surprise to Vic or Elizabeth.
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Jack Hannack
1/15/2016 09:05:38 am
I do agree it is a little crazy Victor's mother wanted him to marry Elizabeth, however, since this took place several hundred years ago it would have been more acceptable then. Back then many marriages were arranged by parents. Victor's mother was just arranging the marriage several years early. The weird aspect of the relationship is that they grew up as siblings and would probably already know everything about one another.
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Rachel Coyne
11/5/2015 09:25:27 am
This bromance has Nick and Gatsby written all over it. They are so similar in the sense that Gatsby and Nick needed each other, just as Walton and Frankenstein did. Furthermore, the men all share life stories with each other and seem very intrigued. Just like Walton has a dream of the North Pole, Gatsby has a dream of Daisy. Nick's life is pretty similar to Frankenstein's in the sense that they both have someone to take care of, Nick with Gatsby and Frankenstein with his monster.
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Jacob Rielly
11/5/2015 01:05:26 pm
I agree Nick and Gatsby are very similar to Victor and Walton. Not only do they both need each other, but in both cases their friendship was instantaneous. Gatsby and Nick were best friends as soon as they meet at Gatsby's first party. Though Victor and Walton did not meet at a party, they became best friends right away.
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Ethan DeWitt
12/7/2015 01:10:26 pm
You make a good argument, but Nick and Gatsby were both reasonable, level-headed individuals, while Frankenstein and Walton are both insane. Why would Walton sail to the most hostile place on Earth JUST to become famous? He's risking his own life, his crew's lives, and a perfectly good sailing ship just so he can be famous for discovering a northwest passage (which would be impractical to use since it would theoretically be located in a frozen body of water). What a clod. Victor, on the other, hand, is so much worse. He's a whiny, arrogant poltroon who dumps his problems on a total stranger (his problems consisting solely of a murderous, repulsive atrocity.) Filthy craven. 11/5/2015 09:28:30 am
Well from the reading so far I have gathered that Bob Walton and good old Vic Franky do show several byronic qualities. Bob is isolated from society, and is self-educated. Frank is also very into his education, and seems to be himself when he is alone. They both are driven to do the things that they do so that they can achieve fame, not fortune. Boom.
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Jenn Hayes
11/5/2015 09:29:22 am
I do not think that it is crazy for Caroline to want Victor and Elizabeth to get married. It seems a little weird but we have to think of the era that it is set in. Marrying cousins (even first cousins) was not abnormal. Same as marrying you died husbands brother. Women back then were not always "allowed" to go out and meet new people. So they married the people they were confortable around. It is weird though that he calls her "more than a sister." But I guess they are not blood related so its all good. Maybe...still kind of weird....
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Isaac Esanbock
11/5/2015 05:56:37 pm
I think that Walton and Victor both show qualities of the byronic hero, as they are both presented in isolated areas, have dark qualities, and are very passionate. And while they I don't feel they are very similar to Gatsby and Nick, they share similar qualities themselves. One of these qualities is their easy acceptance and quick reverence of others. Walton, nearly immediately, is in awe of Victor. When Victor tells his story, he only spoke well of others and seemed to revere both Elizabeth and Henry.
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Ethan DeWitt
12/7/2015 12:43:30 pm
I don't think Walton and Frankenstein are like Gatsby and Nick at all because Nick never dumped a horrifying abomination on Gatsby's lap for him to kill after Nick died.
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Esther Gland
12/7/2015 01:13:55 pm
But on the other hand, after Gastby and Victor died, Nick and Robert did take a similar course of action: getting the heck out of there. Nick was so done with New York and Walton said goodbye to his discovery voyage.
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Ethan DeWitt
12/7/2015 12:46:24 pm
Walton is a Byronic hero due to his passion for knowledge, but does little else to embody this archetype. Victor, however, is so Byronic, it becomes a little annoying. He is so moody and passionate about his disgusting creation. He intentionally isolates himself from society, and he's SO arrogant about his superior intelligence. Thanks, Mary Shelley for creating such an unlikable character, and sticking him to us for 24 chapters.
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Ethan DeWitt
12/7/2015 12:49:48 pm
Another thing! If Walton knew Victor was prone to being stalked by a hideous, hulking beast with an insatiable blood lust, why did Walton let Victor stay on the ship? Does he not care about his unaware crew? Does he not value his own life? Does Walton not know that he has family eagerly waiting his return? Walton should have done himself a favor and thrown Victor overboard once he learned of Victor's baggage.
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Ethan DeWitt
12/7/2015 12:57:32 pm
I like Walton. Although he is a spineless coward for abandoning his voyage, he is one of the few characters in the novel that aren't unlikable. Victor, on the other hand, is a walking pile of hormonal trash that should have never been afforded the opportunity to create a wretch so vile as the creature. While it is true that the true monster in the novel is Victor's creation, none of the horrors that transpired in the novel would have happened if Victor had been a man and buried a gardening trowel into the creature's frontal lobe as soon as he saw it open its dæmonic eye.
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Esther Gland
12/7/2015 01:11:27 pm
See, that's one of the many, MANY, reasons I find Victor so unlikable: he has so many opportunities to try and set things right. And he doesn't do anything ever!! He just cries for himself instead of actually trying to solve his issues. There were so many chances for him to prevent all those deaths, including the first one: not making the creature in the first place. It gets really irritating after awhile.
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Jack Hannack
1/15/2016 09:12:50 am
Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein become good friends similar to Nick and Gatsby, however, I believe their relationship is different. In "The Great Gatsby" I feel Gatsby uses Nick because he is Daisy's cousin. I also feel Gatsby acts superior towards Nick just because he has more money and is more successful. I believe the pair are surface rather than actual friends like Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein. Walton does not seem to act superior to Frankenstein. Rather he knows Victor is equally as intelligent as him and therefore they interact as equals.
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Jordan Walkky
1/19/2016 12:13:48 pm
I don't find Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein's relationship similar to Nick and Gatsby's. I feel like Gatsby viewed himself above Nick even though they were friends. He always showed off his success and never really saw Nick as his equal. On the other hand, Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein do see the other as their equal, especially intellectually. With both of them being so smart, they form a friendship. Nick and Gatsby's friendship really started because Gatsby wanted to get to Daisy.
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