Victor Frankenstein and Captain Walton are similar in many regards. Both are attempting to push the boundaries of the natural world, though in different ways. While Victor's creation of the Monster was done so in pursuit of the advances of natural science, Walton was attempting to push the bounds of human exploration. In this way, both were attempting to further mankind but, at the same time, were blind to the ambition that alienated them from their families and loved ones. Throughout the book, Dr. Frankenstein is constantly lacking in his acknowledgment of the needs and concerns of those around him while pursuing his work, which ultimately serves to isolate him from those he loves. In a similar way, Walton is pursuing his goals despite the evident dangers to himself and his men. "I have no friend, Margaret: when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate my joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavour to sustain me in dejection." (Shelley, 4). In doing so, he is ignoring the fears of those who are close to him in order to pursue ideologies and his idea of a higher purpose.
The narrator and Roderick in “The Fall of the House of Usher” also seem to be similar in the way that they view the world. The melancholy of Roderick Usher seems to be reflected in the characterization that the narrator develops associated with himself, which is evident in the descriptions given in the story. “During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day” (Poe, 1). The parallels between the house itself, falling into decay and depreciation, presents an indication of how the narrator represents the world itself. Looking at the house after running away, it bursts into flames. This could be seen as a reflection of the narrator's own declining mental state.
The use of this technique, the authors' tendencies to set up multiple characters with “parallel” characteristics, presents a particular frame of reference that provides repetition. This has the effect of creating an overall feel or mood within a story or narration. By doing this, the author is able to accomplish the creation of a more dramatic characterization of their protagonists.
Works Cited
Poe, Edgar Allan. Eleonora, The Fall of the House of Usher and The Purloined Letter. Vol. X, Part 3. Harvard Classics Shelf of Fiction. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1917; Bartleby.com, 2000. www.bartleby.com/310/3/. [9 February 2016].
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein: A Norton Critical Edition. ed. J. Paul Hunter. New York: W. W. Norton, 1996
