What happens in Letter 4 of Frankenstein?
Letter 4, addressed to Mrs. Saville in England, contains three entries with specific dates. On July 31st, Walton's ship almost gets trapped by ice and dense fog in the Arctic. When the fog clears, the crew spots a massive figure driving a dog-sledge northward across the ice. About two hours later, the ice breaks apart; the crew decides to wait until morning, and when Walton goes on deck, he finds the sailors talking to someone in the water — a second sledge, similar to the first, has drifted toward the ship on a large piece of ice overnight, carrying a lone dog and a thin European man. The sailors are trying to persuade him to board, and the stranger only agrees after confirming that the ship is headed for the North Pole. He collapses upon entering the cabin and is revived with brandy and soup. When the lieutenant inquires about his journey on the ice, the stranger explains he was chasing someone who "fled from me," referring to this individual as a "dæmon." Learning that the crew saw the first sledge the previous day lifts his spirits, and he keeps a lookout on deck for any sign of it. By August 13th, Walton is deeply struck by the stranger's articulate speech and refined intellect. When Walton passionately declares he would give anything for his polar expedition, the stranger weeps and warns him against sharing his own "madness." He speaks of having lost a noble friend and everything he cherished. Walton resolves to transcribe the tale each night as faithfully as possible in the stranger's own words.
Analysis
Letter 4 presents an epistolary journal wrapped within a letter, showcasing three dated entries (August 5th, 13th, and 19th) that outline the development of a relationship evolving from a rescue to a near-brotherhood. Walton's first-person narration drives the entire narrative: readers see the stranger solely through Walton's admiring and increasingly emotional lens, which both elevates the stranger and exposes Walton's own susceptibility to obsession.
The chapter establishes a motif of mirroring. Two sledges — one racing northward across the ice and the other drifting toward the ship on a piece of ice — frame the stranger's pursuit as a chase that began long before Walton met him. Walton's willingness to sacrifice "my fortune, my existence, my every hope" for knowledge mirrors whatever drove the stranger to the ice, while the stranger's shocked question, "Do you share my madness?" clearly emphasizes this parallel. The cup metaphor — "you will dash the cup from your lips" — depicts dangerous knowledge as an intoxicant, linking the ambitions of both men.
Imagery of light and darkness shapes the stranger's characterization: his face is "lighted up … with a beam of benevolence," yet "a dark gloom spread over my listener's countenance" when Walton mentions sacrifice. The celestial-spirit passage — describing the stranger's "double existence" and the "halo around him" — elevates him to an almost supernatural status, setting the stage for the extraordinary narrative to come.
The chapter also transitions the narrative: Walton states he will recount the stranger's story "as nearly as possible in his own words," formally establishing the nested-narrator structure that will steer the rest of the novel.
Key quotes from Letter 4
““Unhappy man! Do you share my madness? Have you drunk also of the intoxicating draught? Hear me; let me reveal my tale, and you will dash the cup from your lips!””
The stranger, weeping, interrupts Walton's fervent declaration that he would sacrifice everything for his polar enterprise.
“I once had a friend, the most noble of human creatures, and am entitled, therefore, to judge respecting friendship. You have hope, and the world before you, and have no cause for despair. But I—I have lost everything and cannot begin life anew.”
The stranger responds to Walton's confession of longing for a true friend, during their August 13th conversation.
“I said in one of my letters, my dear Margaret, that I should find no friend on the wide ocean; yet I have found a man who, before his spirit had been broken by misery, I should have been happy to have possessed as the brother of my heart.”
Walton reflects on his growing bond with the stranger at the close of the August 5th entry.
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Create an accountSign inVocabulary in Letter 4
- perfectionate
- To make something more perfect or complete; to improve and refine something that is weak or flawed, bringing it closer to an ideal state.