Partly from curiosity
As Victor exactly echoes the diction used by Walton to
explain his eagerness to hear the account to which he now listens (Letter 4.8, and note), Mary Shelley reverts to the
notion of curiosity as being, for better or worse, a fundamental human
trait that impels the actions of all the major characters in the novel.
Often, as here, the interest is wholly idle and unmotivated.
