In Mary Shelly's time, letters were the main sources of communication. Traveling to visit friends and relatives was time consuming. For example, if an aunt or uncle lived 45 miles away, it could take up to two days to reach home by carriage. Compared to today's cars, two days for a 45-mile trip seems outrageous. Writing a letter was easier and faster, just like texting today. Incidentally, the letters can be used to uncover information about long-dead artists like Shelly. Shelly uses letters as narration in her novel Frankenstein. The entire novel is told through letters between Robert Walton and his sister, Margaret Saville. What does Shelly convey through the use of letters? Shelly uses letters to prove the truth of a story. The characters in Shelly's novel use letters to prove the truth of their stories. The characters in Frankenstein use letters in the same way as Shelly, as evidence. Letters show up often in the novel. The letters between Felix and Safie are particularly important artifacts for the characters of Frankenstein. The way these letters are used promotes the idea that the letters are proof of the truth. Letters from Felix and Safie are exchanged between the creature, Victor, and Walton. These letters initially surface when the creature makes its proposal to Victor. The creature convinces Victor to follow him to his current place of residence because he has a proposition for Victor. In order to make a sufficient argument, the creature must recount its circumstances to Victor. More importantly, Victor must believe the creature's story. The creature begins by telling Victor about his first days of existence and everything he has experienced. In the end, he says he found a hovel attached to a... medium of paper... of the characters to prove the truth of their stories. Each character has their own story to tell, but they all use these letters to show their listener that what they feel is true. This recurring use of Felix and Safie's letters implies that any letter can prove the truth. This idea can be applied to the entire novel which is told through a series of letters. Shelly presents Walton's letters to Margaret to prove that what he is saying is true, just as the characters in her story do with Felix and Safie's letters. Overall, as demonstrated by Felix and Safie's frequent letter exchanges, the letters between Walton and Margaret are used as evidence to imply that the horrible story of Victor Frankenstein is true. Works Cited Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Susan J. Wolfson. Frankenstein. 2nd ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. Print.