Robert Walton - Blog Posts
oh yes their dynamic is so absolutely fucked and weird and sad. i think if victor hadnt died when he did, they would have just ended up making eachother worse and miserable
if victor ever requited walton’s love for him (be it platonic or romantic) i think walton would fall LESS in love. i think walton just loves romanticizing the unobtainable, he chases the unknown, and that’s why he hangs all his hopes on things he feasibly cannot reach - first becoming a famous poet, then sailing to the arctic to find the northern passage, and then victor, who is dying and too hung up on his past to love again
also, if victor HAD lived long enough to recover and be well again, i think walton would have lost interest in victor. victor and walton’s relationship was built and founded primarily on their dynamic as sick and caretaker, and without it i’m not sure walton would know what to do with himself, or he would become overbearing to compensate
at this point, victor would have already exhausted his whole story as well, so there’s no air of mystery around him anymore - nothing for walton to glorify or romanticize
Also it's very uncomfortable to see how much Walton romanticizes Victor's depression. "Noble and godlike in ruin" dude he's just educated in the same way as you and hyperfixating on revenge, please stop
