earlier reference, however, might be construed to have a bearing on Walton's present
insistence on its claims. This comes in Elizabeth's letter of commiseration to Victor
about his illness while in Ingolstadt. There she testified to her accord with Ernest's
desire to be a farmer, though it were a less "honourable occupation" (I:5:2) than
that of a judge. In her letter the idea of honour is tied to social and class hierarchies,
perhaps as well to distinctions between gender roles. It is clear that in Walton's
eyes his crew are, to return to Victor's formulation (III:Walton:17), lesser men than
they would be if they were possessed of a sense of honorable duty to the cause to
which their master has committed them.