why does the stranger feel that the polar region is an appropriate setting for the telling of his tale?

when Victor and his crew were on the ship and they saw this human like figure being pulled on a sledge by two dogs. Then the next morning they find the man outside of the ship only left with one dog. And the stranger asks if they seen his friend and they said they did. After a little later in the story the stranger and Victor start a beautiful friendship and they start telling each other their life stories. So I need to know the type of effect he was trying to receive from telling his story on the polar region.