Quote Analysis

Still writing in the same optimistic passage, Walton poses this rhetorical question to his sister, asserting that human determination can overcome any obstacle.

The rhetorical question expects no answer because Walton assumes none exists—he frames human will as an unstoppable force. Yet by phrasing it as a question at all, Shelley plants the structure of a challenge: the novel itself will answer what can stop such a man. The pairing of 'determined heart' with 'resolved will' doubles down on the same idea, as if repetition alone can make invincibility real.

Use this to argue that Shelley structures the novel as a response to Walton's question—the entire narrative of Victor's downfall serves as the answer Walton cannot yet imagine, demonstrating that nature, ethics, or human frailty can indeed stop unchecked will.