How is the stranger similar to the ancient mariner
Did he even have the right to get involved? Did he walk away because he was scared, or indifferent? And was his passivity in fact tantamount to an act of murder? The Mariner idly shoots an albatross that perches on his ship. He does not require it for food, nor does he kill it in self-defence, he is not even particularly irritated by its presence. In fact, the Mariner never bothers to give himself or his listener the intercepted Wedding Guest any reason at all for this act. It seems he did it either out of boredom, arbitrary cruelty, or some other subconscious motive whose nature he is either unwilling, or unable to grasp.
When it comes to the question of their guilt, they almost seem to switch roles. There is no one to witness his crime, no one to blame or punish him. It is even hard to say with certainty that it was a crime, the woman threw herself off the bridge after all. Even if she regretted it afterwards, it can be seen as her punishment for taking her own life for granted and selfishly valuing her feelings of despair over the love of her friends and relatives.
Clamence however, fixates on the idea that this incident is just an example of the worthlessness and evil of his nature. He chooses it as the ultimate symbol of his sinfulness, the reason that the world will always laugh at him. He deprives himself of his home, his successful career, and his comfortable life. He shuts himself off in a dingy little pub in Amsterdam ready to declare his sins to anyone who will listen. He sees this almost as a mission of mercy; he teaches others to recognize their internal evil before their subconscious self-deceit leads them to despair.
Where the formerly passive Clamence takes the initiative in his own punishment, the aggressive Mariner does quite the reverse. He suffers only through the scorn of others; his shipmates who hang the dead albatross around his neck because they believe he has murdered their luck, and the spirits who curse him for his pointless act of cruelty.
The Mariner is destined to suffer first the derision of his shipmates, then the guilt of their extermination on his account, and later the long-term vengeance of the spirits. It is the spirits who compel him to share his woeful tale with strangers, not the tug of his own conscience.
It seems he is not willing to take responsibility for his actions at all. He killed the albatross because he wanted to, and because he could — it was just a bird after all. If nothing had come of it, he would simply have walked on and forgotten all about it. He needed the violent interference of others to feel remorse. He could only begin to understand his guilt through the sufferings inflicted on him from without.
Does he bless them because he has reached a full understanding of the value of every living thing, or is he simply envious of their freedom and joy? Perhaps he blesses them as he blesses his long lost peace of mind. It is hard to say which of these characters is the most admirable or the least guilty.
Both crimes are subjective and are mostly important for what they say about their perpetrators. This specific act is just an outward manifestation of who he really is — a hypocrite and a coward. The rules change when it comes to survival. It is not the act on its own that is repulsive, it is the motive.
One cannot help but wonder what it is that impels the Mariner to kill a harmless, innocent creature for no apparent reason.
Such a disregard for life and such a need for random violence cannot help but be unnerving. One wonders how far the Mariner is capable of going, and whether he has any inhibitions left. There is nothing wrong with being a hypocritical coward, just like there is nothing wrong with fighting for your survival.
Clamence punishes himself because he feels he has sinned against himself. He is not the man he thought he was and the disappointment is more than he can bear. By laying open his nature to the world and inviting others to do the same, he hopes to somehow undo the humiliation of his loss of control. Sinful and flawed as he is, he is at least determined to be honest with himself and the world, still maintaining his superior position.
The Mariner, on the other hand, would escape his punishment if he could. New User? First Name. Last Name. Email Address. Opt-in to important GradeSaver updates! Have an Account? Initially, Walton is saddened and in despair because of his loneliness.
On his voyage, he has, as he says "no friend," no one to be a companion and share in his pursuit. He feels the men of his crew are not scientific in their pursuits and he has no one who really understands him. What does Walton lament in Letter 2?
In the second letter, Walton bemoans his lack of friends. He feels lonely and isolated, too sophisticated to find comfort in his shipmates and too uneducated to find a sensitive soul with whom to share his dreams. Why does Walton want a friend in Frankenstein?
Friendship 1: Friendship is important throughout the novel because it is the goal of Walton, the narrator, as well as the monster Frankenstein created. Walton longs for a friend to share his excitement over the voyage to the North Pole. What biblical character does the creature compare himself to? He compares himself to a fallen angel—a reference to Satan. He feels he should be likeAdam—adored by his creator. What happens in Letter 2 of Frankenstein? Letter 2: In the second letter, Walton bemoans his lack of friends.
How does Walton feel about Frankenstein? His ship has become trapped in the ice. As Walton listens to Frankenstein's story, he becomes incredibly attached to him. He is astonished by Victor's life and admires him. How does the creature get to know the family who lives in the cottage?