Frankenstein: Family

"'When I mingled with other families, I distinctly discerned how peculiarly fortunate my lot was, and gratitude assisted the development of filial love.'" pg 19
"Two years passed in this manner during which I paid no visit to Geneva, but was engaged, heart and soul, in the pursuit of some discoveries which I hoped to make." pg 29

Both Walton and Victor have strong ties to at least one person in their family, specifically their sisters. Although not a great deal is mentioned about Walton's family life, it is easy to see that he has a close relationship to his sister. In his letters he writes things such as "my dear, excellent, Margaret" and "I love you tenderly" which implies that he has a loving relationship with his sister. Victor, on the other hand directly speaks about his close relationship with his sister, whom he calls "cousin". Throughout chapters 2 and 3 Victor spends a great deal of time describing the strong relationship he had with his family. However, in both the case of Victor and Walton it seems as if they both turned their backs on their families in order to pursue their journey. Walton writes to his sister still, but several months pass between each letter that he sends. Victor, while off at Ingolstadt. While there he completely turns away from his family in Geneva in order to focus on the human body in which he worked so diligently to assemble. I find it very interesting that both of these main characters mention the loneliness and sadness that they have endured when they were lacking a person to communicate with. However, both men made a conscious decision to turn their backs on their families in an effort to pursue their goals. I think this was especially hard for both of them because they both had such strong (and somewhat creepy) relationships with their sisters.