Reflective, Melancholic, Ambitious, And Foreboding.

This chapter consists of a series of letters written by Robert Walton to his sister, Margaret Saville, describing his Arctic expedition, his ambitions, and his loneliness. The tone changes when the crew rescues a mysterious, emaciated stranger from the ice, who hints at a tragic past and offers to tell Walton his story.

In a series of letters sent from St. Petersburg, Archangel, and eventually aboard a ship in the Arctic, Robert Walton tells his sister Margaret of his aspirations to discover new lands and study the mysteries of the magnetic pole. Walton discusses his passion for exploration, intellectual ambitions, regret over his lack of formal education, and his yearning for a true, understanding friend. As his journey progresses and they become trapped in ice, the crew witnesses a gigantic figure crossing the ice and later rescues a near-frozen European man traveling in a sledge. Walton is intrigued by the stranger's gentleness, wisdom, and overwhelming grief. The rescued man is evasive about his past, hinting at misfortune, and grows interested in Walton's own ambitions. Eventually, the stranger agrees to tell his story, warning that his search for knowledge resulted in suffering, but hoping his tale will serve as a warning to Walton.