he has retired into himself
As with other of his comments in this passage, readers may sense that
what Walton signifies is conceptually broader than what he actually
realizes he is saying: thus the value of his comment is more in alerting
us to a problematic issue than in giving us a thumbnail sketch that will
define Victor Frankenstein forever in our minds. Where Walton sees a
praiseworthy self-containment in his friend's comportment, indeed, many
critics remark the dangers of Romantic solipsism. In Victor's own account
his introversion and obsessiveness will be stressed as character traits
that were factors contributing to his downfall.
