Walton, an isolated sailor attempting to explore the North Pole, is writing letters to his sister, beginning Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein. After being alone at sea for months, Walton writes “Inspirited by this wind of promise, my daydreams become more fervent and vivid” (Shelley 1). In one of the first lines uttered by Walton, his speaking of daydreams in his isolated state, puts the reader on alert, questioning his reliability in telling the course of the novel. In literature there are numerous types of narrators to tell a story. In which case, the type of narrator sets the course of how the story will be told. Often times, authors may choose to have an unreliable narrator in order to cause their readers to question the authenticity
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Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, begins with four relatively short letters by Walton, an isolated sailor exploring the North, written to his sister, in order to reassure her worries and narrate his experiences. Within these first letters, there are several clues that alert the reader to perceive Walton as unreliable. For one, there are no complete dates on any of Walton’s letters. Every letter is missing the year, so the first one reads “St. Petersburgh, Dec. 11th, 17--” (Shelley 1). The ambiguity of not knowing the exact context of these letters sparks questions regarding Walton’s reliability. Even at this point, only credulous readers would perceive Walton as being reliable. As unreliable narration can “be explained 'in the context of frame theory as a projection by the reader who tries to resolve ambiguities and textual inconsistencies by attributing them to the narrator’s unreliability.'" (Zerweck). Not including any years, nullifies Walton’s entire story--already causing the reader to question the way they perceive his reliability. In attempting to reassure his sister that he is okay, Walton opens his first letter saying “You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings” (Shelley 1) as she doubted her brother’s ability in being successful. She believed his entire endeavour to be a dangerous disaster, impugning upon Walton’s journey, not believing his quixotic dreams. Desiring to prove his sister’s worries and doubts of his ability wrong, Walton opens his letter, casting aside her fears, even if only
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, begins with four relatively short letters by Walton, an isolated sailor exploring the North, written to his sister, in order to reassure her worries and narrate his experiences. Within these first letters, there are several clues that alert the reader to perceive Walton as unreliable. For one, there are no complete dates on any of Walton’s letters. Every letter is missing the year, so the first one reads “St. Petersburgh, Dec. 11th, 17--” (Shelley 1). The ambiguity of not knowing the exact context of these letters sparks questions regarding Walton’s reliability. Even at this point, only credulous readers would perceive Walton as being reliable. As unreliable narration can “be explained 'in the context of frame theory as a projection by the reader who tries to resolve ambiguities and textual inconsistencies by attributing them to the narrator’s unreliability.'" (Zerweck). Not including any years, nullifies Walton’s entire story--already causing the reader to question the way they perceive his reliability. In attempting to reassure his sister that he is okay, Walton opens his first letter saying “You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings” (Shelley 1) as she doubted her brother’s ability in being successful. She believed his entire endeavour to be a dangerous disaster, impugning upon Walton’s journey, not believing his quixotic dreams. Desiring to prove his sister’s worries and doubts of his ability wrong, Walton opens his letter, casting aside her fears, even if only