the burning ardour of my soul
Having twice in his letters to his sister (Letters 2.5 and 3) assured her of his prudence, Walton
here becomes carried away by his enthusiasm. In terming what impels him
a "burning ardour," he utters what is almost a code word in the novel,
designating a feature shared by the male protagonists whose value, like
the other shared attribute of curiosity, is complexly ambiguous. He has
already declared himself overly ardent (
Letter 1.2). Soon, we will observe
the same problem in Victor (1.3.1).
