Frankenstein is unique in the way it portraits the main character, that is “characters”. As before any of the chapters begin a series of four letters prelude. These letters tell the tale of a seaman, destined for the North Pole, and his travels as he writes to his dearest sister. At first I was clueless to this setting and the characters presented; they just did not fit the image of what I had expected for Frankenstein. But, amidst this confusion I felt confident after the line: “a being which had the shape of a man, but apparently of gigantic stature, sat in the sledge, and guided the dogs” (Shelley, 35) that the creature Frankenstein that I was expecting was in fact the one at the helm of the sleigh that was spotted. As I continued the story another man was introduced, one who was explained to be very interested in the giant on the sleigh as seen earlier and had a story to tell. This story is in fact the one of Frankenstein and began on Chapter 1 directly after the letters. This new story throws a few wrenches into the book. One of which is the fact that the previous main character is for the most part forgotten. This set-up for the real Frankenstein story is interesting but is it really necessary and how will it be referred back to in the end?
Yet with these mix of main characters one can see a similarities between the two. For instance the sailor Robert Walton confesses his hardships with his sister, by saying that he has no friends aboard the ship. He says that: “there will be none to participate my joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavor to sustain me in dejection” (Shelley, 31). This feeling of being alone is shared with the man that they brought aboard, that is Mr. Frankenstein, as he asks: “Do you share my madness?” (Shelley, 38). The men seem to become friends and they definitely become very comfortable with each other as Mr. Frankenstein decides to tell his gruesome tale. Within this tale we also see that Frankenstein has a very close bond with his sister or rather Cousin Elizabeth. The same is so for Walton, due to his constant letter barrage to his own sister.
These two characters early on show connections but to what degree this will continue with are still very much in the air. The strange opening into this novel puzzles me but I am very intrigued at what possibilities are destined for the rest of the story.
