Letters
The novel opens with a man named Robert Walton writing letters to his sister Margaret. He explains the dangerous voyage he plans on attending in order to fulfill "some great purpose" he has, in which he does not know what that might be yet. Walton continues in his next letter about his desire for a friend in which he lacks. Walton talks about a man he met and the courageous love story that this stranger endured. We learn from Walton's passion in people and their character that he is a loving and kind hearted man who has much motivation. Walton is very much a Romantic. In his third letter, Walton sets sail with his crew with shining confidence. In the last letter, Walton and his men aboard the ship struggle through much thick ice. They see what appears to be a large creature on a sledge off in the distance. Not too long after, they come across another man on a sledge who is very ill. The weak man is unwillingly taken aboard with the men and is slowly nursed back to health. Walton prevents his crew from asking the man too many bothering questions. Walton sees a friend in this man and wishes he would confine to Walton of his troubles. At the end of the letter, the man agrees to tell Walton his story the following day.
These letters end with Walton narrating and open the novel to the man's story (Victor Frankenstein).