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Rip Van Winkle

language as well as emphasizing nature, magic, and other
INTR
INTRODUCTION
ODUCTION irrational forces. Much of these techniques are tied into Irving’s
Romanticist ambitions—he sought to emphasize individuality
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF WASHINGTON IRVING and nature in a country that was increasingly valuing
Washington Irving was a fiction writer, biographer, historian, communality and industry. Irving was writing at a time when
essayist and US ambassador who worked during the first half of America had recently fought once again for its freedom in the
the 19th century. He is most famous for his short stories “Rip War of 1812 and was just starting to become an increasingly
Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Irving was industrial and mercantile nation. His decision to set “Rip Van
born in New York and was named after General George Winkle” before American Revolutionary War (and to imagine a
Washington (who hadn’t yet been elected President at the time hero who slept through the entire thing, thus serving as a kind
of Irving’s birth, as the Constitution had not been either written of time capsule from the past) likely grew out of his nostalgic
or ratified by 1783). Irving studied law before becoming longing for a more peaceful past, before America was so
interested in historical writing and short fiction. His writing determined to represent production and progress, and before
eventually earned him fame and status, and he was one of the the communality of “The American People” was emphasized
first American authors whose writings received international over the individual. This American Romantic tradition would be
recognition. He spent 17 years living in Europe (primarily carried on by writers like Nathaniel Hawthorne, whose short
Britain and Spain) and was well regarded abroad. Later in his stories bear many thematic resemblances to Irving’s.
life he moved back to Tarrytown New York, and lived on an
estate he named “Sunnyside.” He left this estate to serve as the KEY FACTS
US ambassador to Spain for four years before returning. He
continued writing and keeping up with correspondence until his • Full Title: “Rip Van Winkle”
death in 1859. • When Written: 1817
• Where Written: England
HISTORICAL CONTEXT • When Published: 1819
The story, technically, is set over the course of 20 years. It’s • Literary Period: American Romanticism
opening occurs around 1769 or 1770, while it’s second half
• Genre: Short story
after Rip wakes up takes place around 1789. The beginning of
the story therefore takes place before the Revolutionary War, • Setting: The Catskill Mountains, late 1700’s
when the United States did not exist and the colonies were still • Climax: Rip Van Winkle is bewitched by strange beings on
colonies of England, and not even contemplating the revolution the mountain and passes into a deep sleep. When he returns
to come. The second part takes place after the war has ended, home, nothing is the same.
the United States has become an independent nation, the • Antagonist: Dame Van Winkle
period of the Articles of Confederation is over and the • Point of View: The story has layered narrators; the
Constitution has been ratified, leading to the first presidential omniscient voice of the author presents us with the first
election, which will result in George Washington becoming person account of the fictional historian Diedrich
President. In short, the twenty years that Rip sleeps through Knickerbocker, who has personally investigated and
contain extraordinary change on both a national and local level, recorded the events of Rip Van Winkle’s story.
with profound effects on how the people of the just-created
United States perceived of themselves and behaved. EXTRA CREDIT
Just in Time.Washington Irving also wrote a comprehensive
RELATED LITERARY WORKS biography of his namesake George Washington, which he
“Rip Van Winkle” borrows much of its content from Dutch completed less than a year before he died.
folklore and other mythologies. The story appeared in a book
(called The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.)alongside Overnight Success.Irving composed his first draft of “Rip Van
Irving’s other very famous short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Winkle” over the course of just one night in Birmingham,
Hollow,” which displays a similar interest in mystical happenings England.
and forces of nature. Though Irving’s mythology is borrowed,
the work represents a significant departure from its American
predecessors by employing less formal and even vernacular

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Rip introduced himself to the strangers at the hotel as a “loyal
PL
PLO
OT SUMMARY subject of the king” but this is met with outrage. He discovers
that 20 years have passed since he went up the mountain. The
Diedrich Knickerbocker, an old New York gentleman with an
American Revolution has taken place. His friends and
interest in the histories and stories told by the descendants of
neighbors Nicholas Vedder and Brom Ducher are dead, and
Dutch settlers in New York in the early 19th century, narrates
Derrick Van Bummel is working in the newly established
the story of a simple, good-natured man named Rip Van Winkle,
American Congress. His son Rip Van Winkle Jr. has grown up to
who lives in a small village in the Catskills. Though Rip comes
be just like his father, and his daughter Judith has married and
from a family full of chivalrous and militaristically successful
has a child (Rip Van Winkle III). The townspeople come to
men, he is unconcerned with such things and is chiefly occupied
believe Rip’s story on the mountain after his tale is
with shirking his duties to his home and family and avoiding his
corroborated and explained by the oldest man in town, Peter
nagging wife, Dame Van Winkle. He spends most of his day out
Vanderdonk, and the townsfolk eventually turn their attention
of the house with his dog Wolf, where his wife can’t reach him
back to the upcoming presidential election. Rip moves in with
as easily, either talking with townspeople at the inn, hunting
his daughter and spends the rest of his days living as he did
squirrels, fishing, or helping on farms other than his own.
prior to his disappearance, only now he has no need to fear his
One day Dame Van Winkle is so persistent in her haranguing wife’s intrusion and lives freely and peacefully.
pursuit of Rip that he flees to the woods with his gun and dog.
He absently follows a squirrel high into the Catskill Mountains
and ends up taking a nap. Just as the day’s light is fading and Rip CHARA
CHARACTERS
CTERS
is preparing to go back down the mountain, he encounters a
stranger. The stranger is holding a stout keg on his back, and MAJOR CHARACTERS
Rip, drawn by some mysterious force, helps the stranger carry Diedrich Knick
Knickerbock
erbocker
er – Knickerbocker is the fictional
the keg to the top of the mountain, where he finds strange men historian who narrates the story of Rip Van Winkle. We learn
wearing antiquated clothing playing ninepins (these men are that Knickerbocker has died shortly after composing this
the spirits of Hendrick Hudson and the crew of the Half Moon, history. Formerly an “old gentleman of New York,”
though Rip doesn’t know that). Rip is instructed to serve them a Knickerbocker fostered a keen interest in the history of the
drink that is so enticing that Rip secretly tastes some himself, Dutch settlers of New York, and preferred to do research by
and then consumes it immoderately and falls into a deep sleep obtaining first person accounts as opposed to turning to books.
on the mountain. He had the capability and intelligence to concern himself with
When Rip wakes up he assumes he has slept through the night, “weightier labours” but nevertheless focused on enjoyed his
and worries about the backlash he will face from Dame Van hobby thoroughly until his death, and is generally well
Winkle. But soon it becomes apparent that something strange remembered by common people in his community, if not by
has happened. The gun by his side is an old and rusty one, and critics.
his beard is now a foot long. His joints are stiff, and he finds it Rip VVan
an Winkle – The protagonist of the story, Rip Van Winkle
difficult to climb the mountain. He tries to locate the peak on is a genial, passive man living in a small Dutch province in the
which he fell asleep but cannot find it. Wolf is also nowhere to Catskills, who spends his time engaging in work that is not
be found, and after searching for him as long as he could, Rip useful or profitable, such as hunting squirrels and doing odd
apprehensively descends the mountain with the rusty gun, jobs in houses and gardens that aren’t his own. He is the
dreading his reunion with his wife. Though the path is nowhere “henpecked husband” of his constantly nagging wife, Dame Van
to be found and the landscape is strange, Rip successfully Winkle, from whom he is often hiding, and who is the cause of
makes his way back to the village. most of Rip’s unhappiness. Rip ventures up to the top of a
On the outskirts of the village a group of children—none of mountain one day while squirrel hunting and encounters
whom are familiar to Rip—chase after him and point at his strange beings who bewitch him with liquor such that he sleeps
beard. Rip notices that the village is now larger and more for 20 years, missing the American Revolution and the dramatic
populated. New houses line the roads and unfamiliar faces peer transformation of both his town and the country around it.
out at him from windows. Perplexed, Rip finds his old house. He Dame V Van
an Winkle – Rip Van Winkle’s wife is a sharp-tongued
expects to hear his wife yelling at him shrilly, but never does. and nagging woman whose only role in the story is to
What’s more, his house is dilapidated, as though no one has antagonize and hound her lazy husband, who avoids all
tended to it in a very long time. He sees a dog that resembles domestic duties. Though Dame Van Winkle’s unceasing
Wolf, but the dog is dirty and emaciated, and does not harassment of her husband is mentioned frequently, she has no
recognize Rip. He goes to the inn to look for his old friends and dialogue in the story and remains a kind of comical background
finds in its place the Union Hotel. force. She dies while Rip is asleep on the mountain, from

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“breaking a blood vessel in a fit of passion at a New England coded icon. These icons make it easy to track where the themes
Peddler.” occur most prominently throughout the work. If you don't have
Rip VVan
an Winkle, Jr
Jr.. – The son of protagonist Rip Van Winkle a color printer, you can still use the icons to track themes in
and Dame Van Winkle. Rip Jr. is determined to grow up to be black and white.
just like his father. The reader sees at the end of the story that
he has succeeded in this (which also means that he has avoided TYRANNY VS. FREEDOM
succeeding in much of anything else). “Rip Van Winkle” examines various kinds of
Derrick VVan
an Bummel – Derrick Van Bummel is the tyrannical power: the tyranny of marriage, the
schoolmaster. He is an educated and articulate man who tyranny of day-to-day responsibilities, and the
eagerly participates in earnest discussions of the news more literal tyranny of King George III of Britain over his
contained in old, outdated newspapers with other townspeople American subjects. The story poses various questions about
at the inn. He becomes a great militia general in the war and, how we can maintain our freedom in face of these tyrannies. By
after the war, eventually becomes a member of Congress. extension, the story also prompts us to wonder what “freedom”
Nicholas V Vedder
edder – Nicholas Vedder is the landlord of the old from tyranny means, what a “tyrant” really is, and how America
inn, who sits all day in the shade of a large tree, who speaks and its citizens are especially in need of answers to these
very little, and whose opinions are indicated by the way he questions.
smokes his pipe: short puffs when he is displeased, and long Rip Van Winkle’s long nap has the primary effect of freeing him
tranquil puffs when he is pleased. He is dead by the time Rip from three major kinds of tyrannies: the tyranny of
wakes up from his long sleep. government, the tyranny of marriage, and the tyranny of
Hendrick Hudson / the crew of the Half Moon – Hudson was a societal expectations. Before his sleep, he is a subject of King
17th century explorer of the New York metropolitan region, George III, the henpecked husband of the ever-nagging Dame
most famous for sailing up the Hudson river (which now takes Van Winkle, and a man in the prime of his life—he is physically
his name). He was lost at sea after mutineers set him and able and reasonably expected to work. But he sleeps through
several other members of his crew adrift. In the story, the spirit the American Revolutionary War. When he wakes from his nap,
of he and his crew haunt the highest peaks of the Catskills. therefore, he is freed of the King’s tyranny. Additionally, during
They lure Rip Van Winkle to the top of the mountain, where Rip’s nap his wife dies after bursting a blood vessel during a
tirade she was delivering to a New England merchant. Rip is
they play ninepins and provide Rip with a drink that keeps him
especially ecstatic about this particular liberation from a
asleep for 20 years.
tyrannical marriage. Rip no longer has to obey (or, more
frequently, hide from) the commands of Dame Van Winkle. And
MINOR CHARACTERS lastly, Rip’s nap has aged him to the point when no one expects
Judith Gardenier – Rip Van Winkle’s daughter, and eventual him to be productive or even busy. He can live unbothered by
mother of Rip Van Winkle III. Rip moves in with Judith after his the King, his wife, or the expectations of his community. But the
return from the mountain. reader should note that after his nap, Rip goes on living much
Rip V
Van
an Winkle III – The grandson of Rip Van Winkle, and the the same way he did before, suggesting that perhaps he was
infant child of Judith Gardenier and her husband. free even when tyranny abounded. Irving seems to be asking us
if tyranny is really an insurmountable restriction upon living
Peter VVanderdonk
anderdonk – The “most ancient” inhabitant of Rip Van
freely, or if it is merely an obstacle the free must overcome with
Winkle’s village, Peter Vanderdonk is the one person able to
persistence and creativity.
recall Rip Van Winkle after his 20-year absence. He
corroborates Rip’s story to the townspeople and thereby ends It is even suggested that Diedrich Knickerbocker himself (the
the confusion surrounding Rip’s strange return. fictional historian who narrates Rip’s tale) is exercising his own
freedom by doing so. We are told his time would have been
Jonathan Doolittle – The owner of the Union Hotel, the
better spent pursuing “weightier matters,” but nevertheless
establishment that has taken the place of Nicholas Vedder’s inn
Knickerbocker sticks to his hobby even in the face of critical
after Rip’s return.
scorn, economic failure, and the societal expectation that he
Brom Dutcher – A neighbor of Rip Van Winkle. He dies in the should be doing otherwise. He freely “rides his hobby in his
Revolutionary War. own way.” In this sense, “Rip Van Winkle” is not only a story
about freedom, but also an example of freedom. Knickerbocker
performs the very freedom about which he writes.
THEMES “Rip Van Winkle” was written in 1817, and published in 1819.
In LitCharts literature guides, each theme gets its own color- The United States was still new, and had only recently endured
the War of 1812, during which it was reasonable to question

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the country’s continued freedom from the British. Narratives TRUTH, HISTORY AND STORYTELLING
about freedom would have addressed important questions the
“Rip Van Winkle” is a framed story, in which a
United States and its citizens had for their government and
fictional storyteller (historian Diedrich
themselves. “Rip van Winkle”, for instance, seems to suggest
Knickerbocker) is said to have collected it and in so
that personal freedom is available to the individual regardless
doing establishes the story’s status as a credible historical
of external circumstances. Rip and the author who writes about
account. But we have reason to doubt its status as such.
him can then be seen as free in spite of the various tyrannies
Knickerbocker does not research using historical texts. He
that threaten that freedom. This story about the persevering
instead collects his stories straight from the mouths of Dutch
freedom of the individual would have certainly been interesting
families. His historical “research” consists of oral storytelling.
(and perhaps comforting!) to American readers in a time when
What’s more, the story includes obviously mythological and
the freedom of the collective nation of the United States of
magical figures, the “strange beings” that “haunt” the Catskill
America was still perceived as fragile.
Mountains (later revealed to be the spirit of mutinied ship
Captain Hendrick Hudson and his remaining loyal crew). The
ACTIVE VS. PASSIVE RESISTANCE story opens with a poem about truth; but in the first paragraph
Though Rip Van Winkle values his own freedom Knickerbocker notes the “magical” beauty of the Catskills.
greatly, he cannot be said to actively fight for it. Rip There is the immediate suggestion that “Truth” is not the same
is the perfect example of a passive resistor. He as “historical fact.”
responds to his wife (and eventually to the mention of his late We know that Knickerbocker has spoken with Rip Van Winkle,
wife) by throwing up his hands, shaking his head, and looking up whose own story is (we’re told) beyond doubt, but we are also
at the sky. This characteristically resigned gesture neither frequently being clued in on details that make the account
denies nor accepts. What’s more, when Dame Van Winkle was seem less reliable. For instance, Rip cannot keep his story
alive, Rip freed himself from her simply by avoiding her. There is straight the first few times he tells it, but we are led to believe
never a single moment of confrontation between Rip Van his eventual consistency is reason enough to believe him. We
Winkle and Dame Van Winkle, despite the fact that she is Rip’s are repeatedly prompted (paradoxically by Knickerbocker’s
primary antagonist. Rip’s passivity in attaining freedom from constant reassurance) to wonder what is real and what
King George III is even more pronounced: he becomes a free isn’t—and what “truth” itself consists in. Where does the line
citizen of the United States by napping peacefully through the between history and fiction occur, and can “truth” still be
American Revolution. present where facts are in dispute?
Rip’s passivity is held up in contrast to various examples of Washington Irving was himself a historical writer and
active resistance. One of Rip’s friends dies in the War. Another biographer as well as a fiction writer in the tradition of
ends up working in the American Congress. Both of these men American Romanticism. So, his interest in the relationship
became integral to the birth of a new nation. The patriot in between truth and fiction, history and the mystical or irrational,
front of the Union Hotel, so focused on the upcoming election, is unsurprising. At the time of “Rip Van Winkle’s” publication,
is another figure who is actively maintaining the integrity of the America was growing and beginning to construct its national
new democratic America. Even the spirit of Hendrick Hudson, identity. Perhaps the conflation of “history” and “fiction”
who bewitched Rip on the mountain, calls to mind active demonstrated by Diedrich Knickerbocker is meant to suggest
resistance and revolt: Hudson was a Dutch ship captain who that storytelling, art, and culture develop a country’s history
was violently overthrown by mutineers on his boat and set and identity as much as so-called “factual” events do. Irving’s
adrift, never to be seen again. He and the other characters tied interest is not only in compiling America’s historical record, but
up in the activity of revolt, revolution, and nation building help also in developing (and calling for the further development of)
to set Rip apart as distinctly not active. an American mythology, American folk history, and a new and
This division between passive and active resistance could be distinct American voice.
seen as a response to the country’s violent recent past. Perhaps
Irving’s suggestion, by making an almost impossibly passive LABOR VS. PRODUCTIVITY
character the protagonist and hero of the story, is that passivity “Rip Van Winkle” distinguishes between labor on its
is (or can be) effective. Rip is free, generous, kind, and own and productive labor, or that which is
happy—without fighting, campaigning, or competing. Irving (in profitable. Rip is the most obvious example of
line with the American Romanticism his writing exemplified) someone who labors without profit. He is happy to help in
might be wondering if America’s incessant emphasis on gardens and farms that are not his own—while his own land
industriousness and active patriotism is in fact necessary for becomes severely run-down. He will hunt squirrels or fish all
the happiness and fulfillment of its citizens. day, even if he knows he will have very little to show for it.

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Though he is busy, he is not productive. Additionally, Derrick of Rip Van Winkle will always live—lazily and happily—in the
Van Bummel, the highly intelligent schoolmaster who has Catskills, regardless of the rapid change of his environment.
earnest discussions about long out-of-date newspapers with This again is a very clearly romantic gesture on Irving’s part,
others at the old inn, is notably occupying himself with an indicating a nostalgia for the past and a suspicion of political
ultimately irrelevant exercise. (Van Bummel’s later work in the and technological advances that were rapidly changing the
American congress suggests he eventually reforms himself into American experience and the American landscape during the
a productive laborer.) Knickerbocker himself, it is suggested, is time Irving was writing. And it is also an insistence that the past
also guilty of laboring without productivity. He slaves over his as represented by Rip Van Winkle will live on within that future.
historical accounts though they are believed by most to
be—however thorough and accurate—basically
inconsequential. SYMBOLS
In the early 1800’s America was an increasingly industrious, Symbols appear in teal text throughout the Summary and
mercantile, and profit-driven culture. The cultural emphasis on Analysis sections of this LitChart.
productivity was ever-present. The idea that Americans—like
Knickerbocker or Rip Van Winkle—might labor not out of a
desire to advance and be productive, but rather out of THE INN
generosity, interest, or the simple pursuit of joy was perhaps The inn is where, prior to Rip Van Winkle’s long
refreshing to Irving and his readers, who would have felt the sleep, he and other townspeople spend their days.
increasing pressure of their growth-obsessed culture. This The inn functions as a locus for unproductive activity, and
idea, of resisting industrialization and hyper-productivity, is represents the peace and rest of the past, before America
something that would only intensify in certain strains of violently revolted against the King of England and began to
literature over the course of the century as the Industrial vigorously build itself as an independent nation. The old
Revolution spread across Europe and the US. innkeeper Nicholas Vedder spends the whole day sitting under
the shade of the big tree, moving when the shade moves. His
CHANGE VS. STASIS pursuit is of tranquility and nature, rather than productivity and
There is a dynamic tension in “Rip Van Winkle” profit. Schoolmaster Derrick Van Bummel wastes his
between change and stasis (and by extension past considerable mental faculties debating events in outdated
and future). When Rip wakes up on the mountain newspapers with others at the inn, and the inn is where Rip
he returns to discover that everything has changed. The town is avoids his wife and his domestic duties. The inn is a figure for
bigger and more populous, his children are grown, his wife is passive resistance and idle amusement. A sign bearing the face
gone, and he now has a grandson. Plus, the Unites States of of King George III overlooks the activity of the inn. It becomes
America is now an independent free nation and Rip is no longer symbolic and significant especially in its oppositional
a subject of the King. All of this is true, yet Rip eventually relationship to the establishment that replaces it, The Union
resumes living just as he did before. Hotel.
Because Rip manages to live through the American Revolution
without participating, his perspective is uncontaminated by the THE FLAGON OF DRINK
tumultuous change that brought the US from the past to the
The drink is a symbolic representation of the
present. As a result, the town comes to regard Rip as a kind of
passive escapism that Rip Van Winkle (and other
keeper of the past. They gather around him and listen to his
henpecked husbands) so desperately long for. It’s delicious
stories every day at the Union Hotel. Rip functions as the link
irresistibility gestures to the seductive power of escape—and
between the past before the Revolutionary War and the future
the drink does in fact provide escape from responsibilities,
after it. Rip’s stories are attractive in two ways: one as a
duties, toils, and from history itself.
connection to a nostalgic past now lost to history given that the
world and the country had changed dramatically and
profoundly, and yet in many ways Rip is a comforting example THE UNION HOTEL
of the fact that life goes on as it did before. In addition, the fact The Union hotel represents the inverse of the old
that Rip Van Winkle Jr. has grown to be indistinguishable—in inn. It is now occupied by industrious political
both appearance and behavior from his father—suggests even activists, who, instead of lazily concerning themselves with
more thoroughly Rip’s almost mystical continuity. And, of outdated news, are occupied by the upcoming Presidential
course, at end of the story we meet the infant Rip Van Winkle election. The tree under which the old innkeeper used to sleep
III. has been replaced by a flagpole flying the stars and stripes of
It is as though the story wants us to believe that some version

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the union—this is an ominous sign of the new America’s There have been various opinions as to the literary
increasing interest in industry and patriotism displacing a love character of his work, and, to tell the truth, it is not a whit
of nature. George Washington’s face, also, has replaced King better than it should be. Its chief merit is its scrupulous
George’s. Where previously the inn had been a place of idle accuracy, which indeed was a little questioned on its first
amusement overseen by a generally absent tyrant, it is now a appearance, but has since been completely established; and it is
place of industry, labor, and patriotism. how admitted into all historical collections as a book of
unquestionable authority.

QUO
QUOTES
TES Related Characters: Diedrich Knickerbocker
Note: all page numbers for the quotes below refer to the
Penguin Classics edition of Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Related Themes:
Stories published in 1999.
Page Number: 28

“Rip Van Winkle” Quotes Explanation and Analysis

The old gentleman died shortly after the publication of his In the framing device of the short story, Irving playfully
work, and now that he is dead and gone it cannot do much harm insists that the story we're about to read is accurate—and
to his memory to say that his time might have been much better then he deliberately creates confusion about its accuracy.
employed in weightier labors. He, however, was apt to ride his We're told that Knickerbocker was scrupulously accurate in
hobby in his own way. his writing; yet we're also told that there have been serious
questions about the contents of his stories.

Related Characters: Diedrich Knickerbocker As we'll come to see, Irving is right: the story is both true
and false. On a literal level, there was no Rip Van Winkle.
Related Themes: And yet the story uses metaphor and fantasy to convey a
deeper, historical truth--the rapid changes that took place in
Page Number: 28 the United States during Irving's lifetime, and during the
generations immediately before his own.
Explanation and Analysis
The short story begins with a "framing device"--we're told
that the story we're about to read was compiled by one The great error in Rip’s composition was an insuperable
Diedrich Knickerbocker. By drawing attention to this aversion to all kinds of profitable labor. It could not be
fictional author, Irving encourages us to question the truth from the want of assiduity or perseverance; for he would sit on
of the story itself, while also giving it the flavor of historical a wet rock, with a rod as long and heavy as a Tartar’s lance, and
veracity mixed with personal legend and experience. fish all day without a murmur, even though he should not be
Furthermore, the avatar of Deidrich Knickerbocker allows encouraged by a single nibble…in a word, Rip was ready to
Irving to exercise some false modesty about his own attend to anybody’s business but his own; but as to doing family
writing--he claims that the story is subpar, or perhaps not duty, and keeping his farm in order, it was impossible.
worth the reader's time ("his time might have been much
better employed in weightier labors"), and yet Irving's aside
Related Characters: Diedrich Knickerbocker (speaker), Rip
is also an early reference to the themes of memory,
Van Winkle
productivity, and idleness in the story. What is the point of
writing, or pursuing one's particular "hobby"? Irving seems
Related Themes:
to ask us. Perhaps there's no more point to writing than
there is to sleeping. Page Number: 30

Explanation and Analysis

Rip Van Winkle, as Washington Irving describes him, is both
a quintessentially American archetype and noticeably un-
American. Winkle embodies the popular 19th century
American brand of Romanticism, embraced by writers like
Walt Whitman and Herman Melville. Just as Whitman

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celebrated those who "loaf and lounge," Irving affectionately Related Characters: Diedrich Knickerbocker (speaker), Rip
portrays Winkle, a lazy man who seems to be mortally Van Winkle
frightened of doing any usefulwork -- he's busy all the time,
but never doing the things he seemingly out to be doing. Related Themes:
(He's like someone who spends more time and effort
figuring out how to cheat than it would take to just study for Page Number: 31
the test.)
Explanation and Analysis
And yet Winkle is also distinctly un-American. His inability
Washington Irving conveys the full extent of Rip's pleasant
to provide for his family and take care of his land puts him at
laziness in this passage. Rip, we're told, is almost incapable
odd with the dominant ethos of the early 19th century.
of doing work. He enjoys his leisure, and avoids doing labor
Thomas Jefferson argued that American democracy could
even when doing so would benefit his fortunes greatly.
only succeed with the ingenuity of the American farmer; a
figure who had to be able to own land and take care of it Rip is, in short, a distinctly American character. He lives in a
himself. Winkle, of course, can do nothing of the kind. place where it's still possible to do little work and still live
off the "fat of the land." At the time when Irving was writing,
however, the world that Rip stood for--the world of free soil
and free food--had almost vanished. Thus, there's
His son Rip, an urchin begotten in his own likeness, something deeply nostalgic and sentimental in Irving's
promised to inherit the habits, with the old clothes of his portrait of Rip: at a time when human beings were
father. increasingly being measured and judged based on their
capacity to do hard work, Rip's idleness is a blessing, not a
Related Characters: Diedrich Knickerbocker (speaker), Rip sin.
Van Winkle, Rip Van Winkle, Jr.

Related Themes: His wife kept continually dinning in his ears about his
idleness, his carelessness, and the ruin he was bringing on
Page Number: 31
his family. Morning, noon, and night, her tongue was incessantly
Explanation and Analysis going, and everything he said or did was sure to produce a
torrent of household eloquence. Rip had but one way of
In the early pages of his short story, Washington Irving
replying to all lectures of the kind, and that, by frequent use,
depicts an ironical "lineage" for Rip Van Winkle and his
had grown into a habit. He shrugged his shoulders, shook his
family. Rip is a lazy guy, and his son is destined to be lazy too.
head, cast up his eyes, but said nothing.
While Irving could be said to criticize Rip and his kid for
their habits, his tone is remarkably affectionate and easy-
going--he seems to admire Rip for his slow pace and calm Related Characters: Diedrich Knickerbocker (speaker), Rip
way of looking at life, in contrast to the increasingly frantic Van Winkle, Dame Van Winkle
industriousness of the American ethos surrounding him.
There is, in short, a reassuring familiarity in Irving's Related Themes:
description of Rip and his son. We know that Rip's kid will
Page Number: 31
grow up to be just like his dad--that's the natural order of
the universe. But as we'll soon see, the natural order of the Explanation and Analysis
universe will disappear in the turbulence of Rip's (sleeping)
The final ingredient in Rip's life is his nagging wife. Rip's wife
life and the events of the American Revolution.
doesn't share his fondness for idleness and leisure--on the
contrary, she wants Rip to work hard to support her and
their child. Rip resents his wife's nagging, but not enough to
Rip Van Winkle, however, was one of those happy mortals, lash out against her. Instead of yelling back, or actually
of foolish, well-oiled dispositions, who take the world easy, changing his behavior, just Rip shrugs and says nothing.
eat white bread or brown, whichever can be got with least Rip's actions (or rather, his lack of actions) signal to us that
thought or trouble, and would rather starve on a penny than he's afraid to "rebel" against his wife's tyranny. Rip could be
work for a pound said to stand for the average American leading up to the

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time of the Revolutionary War--dissatisfied with English

Related Themes:
rule, but reluctant to do anything to upset it.
Page Number: 33

How solemnly they would listen to the contents, as Explanation and Analysis
drawled out by Derrick Van Bummel, the schoolmaster, a Here we're introduced to the mysterious figure of a
dapper, learned little man, who was not to be daunted by the Dutchman (later revealed to be Henry Hudson, the famous
most gigantic word in the dictionary; and how sagely they explorer). The figure, we later deduce, is a ghost, haunting
would deliberate upon public events some months after they the wilderness area around Rip's town. Irving conveys the
had taken place. Dutchman's old-fashioned demeanor by describing his
clothing and beard.
Related Characters: Diedrich Knickerbocker (speaker), The Dutch occupy a small but important space in American
Derrick Van Bummel history. Dutchmen were stationed on the east coast of
America for a mere two generations, but during this time,
Related Themes: they introduced an incredibly broad range of beloved
American foods, activities, and names. New York, waffles,
Related Symbols: maple syrup, Santa Claus, Wall Street, and ice skating are all
18th century Dutch imports.
Page Number: 32 In short, the Dutch settlers in the U.S. were ghostly figures,
at least from the perspective of their English successors:
Explanation and Analysis
they were gone almost as soon as they'd arrived, leaving
In this passage, we're introduced to the "wise man" of the behind a strong yet ethereal legacy. It's entirely appropriate
community, Derrick Van Bummel. Derrick claims to be an that Irving chooses the Dutch to be the ghosts in his short
educated man (although Irving never gives us any real story--they represent the "vanished past" that Rip will
evidence that he is), and spends long hours at the Inn talking quickly become a part of. (It should be noted that Hudson
about the "news" that he finds in old, discarded newspapers. himself was English, but his explorations were on behalf of
The passage does a good job of subtly conveying the the Dutch East India Company.)
disjointedness of life in Rip's community. Rip's town as a
whole is isolated from the rest of the world--even when the
people get their hands on a newspaper, it's hopelessly out of As he approached the village, he met a number of people,
date. It's as if the entire town operates on a different but none whom he knew, which somewhat surprised him,
schedule than the rest of the world. In other words, Rip isn't for he had thought himself acquainted with every one in the
all that different from his town itself. For the time being, Rip country round. Their dress, too, was of a different fashion from
lives in a place that enables his lazy, unproductive, but that to which he was accustomed. They all stared at him with
overall pleasant way of life. equal marks of surprise, and whenever they cast their eyes
upon him, invariably stroked their chins. The constant
recurrence of this gesture induced Rip, involuntarily, to do the
On nearer approach, he was still more surprised at the same, when, to his astonishment, he found his beard had grown
singularity of the stranger’s appearance. He was a short, a foot long!
square-built old fellow, with thick bushy hair, and a grizzled
beard. His dress was of the antique Dutch fashion—a cloth
Related Characters: Diedrich Knickerbocker (speaker), Rip
jerkin strapped around the waist—several pair of breeches, the
Van Winkle
outer one of ample volume, decorated with rows of buttons
down the sides, and bunches at the knees. Related Themes:

Related Characters: Diedrich Knickerbocker (speaker), Page Number: 36

Hendrick Hudson / the crew of the Half Moon, Rip Van Explanation and Analysis
Winkle
Rip Van Winkle, who's just woken up from a decades-long

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sleep, returns to what remains of his old town. Rip Perhaps the biggest change in American society in the
immediately notices that the townspeople find him odd: he twenty years Rip missed is the replacement of George III's
doesn't recognize them, and they look at him for too long, monarchy with home-grown American democracy. Rip has
stroking their chins. Rip begins to realize what's happened missed the Revolutionary War entirely. Irving implies that
to him when he discovers that his own beard is a foot long-- the subtler cultural changes Rip notices--the new emphasis
evidently, he's been asleep for a very long time. on industry and productivity, which make his old way of life
The passage reinforces the differences that have arisen impossible--are also consequences of the Revolution.
between Rip's culture and the present day. It's not only
because of his beard that Rip stands out from the
townspeople--his clothing is different, and his easygoing The very character of the people seemed changed. There
way of life is a thing of the past. was a busy, bustling, disputatious tone about it, instead of
the accustomed phlegm and drowsy tranquility.

He now hurried forth, and hastened to his old resort, the Related Characters: Diedrich Knickerbocker (speaker)
little village inn—but it too was gone. A large rickety
wooden building stood in its place, with great gaping windows, Related Themes:
some of them broken, and mended with old hats and petticoats,
and over the door was painted, “The Union Hotel, by Jonathan Page Number: 37
Doolittle.” Instead of the great tree which used to shelter the
Explanation and Analysis
quiet little Dutch inn of yore, there now was reared a tall naked
pole, with something on the top that looked like a red nightcap, Rip himself becomes aware of the subtle changes in
and from it was fluttering a flag, on which was a singular American culture in the last 20 years. Where before the
assemblage of stars and stripes…he recognized on the sign, people of his town were more slow-paced, laid back, and
however, the ruby face of King George…but even this was friendly, they're now busier, more irritable, and generally
singularly metamorphosed. The red coat was changed for one not as fun to know. Rip missed out on the crucial years
of blue and buff, a sword was stuck in the hand instead of a during the Revolutionary War, when America (historians
scepter, the head was decorated with a cocked hat, and have often argued) became more focused on industry, work,
underneath was painted in large characters, GENERAL and materialism.
WASHINGTON. As Rip explores his new town, it becomes clear that he's the
last relic of a bygone time--a time when people weren't so
Related Characters: Diedrich Knickerbocker (speaker), Rip concerned with conflict or productivity, but also a time
Van Winkle, Jonathan Doolittle when people submitted to the rule of a distant king. Irving
treats Rip as a nostalgic hero, not a lazy fool--Rip might not
Related Themes: be good at working, but in a society where work has become
the only thing that matters, laziness isn't such a bad thing.
Related Symbols:

Page Number: 37 It was determined, however, to take the opinion of old

Peter Vanderdonk, who was seen slowly advancing up the
Explanation and Analysis
road. He was a descendant of the historian of that name, who
In this passage, Rip Van Winkle struggles to come to terms wrote one of the earliest accounts of the province. Peter was
with his new reality. He's been asleep for twenty years, the most ancient inhabitant of the village, and well versed in all
meaning that almost everything about his life has the wonderful events and traditions of the neighborhood. He
disappeared or changed enormously. Rip's favorite places to recollected Rip at once, and corroborated his story in the most
hang out, such as the local inn, have been torn down and satisfactory manner. He assured the company that it was a fact,
replaced with new structures. Notice that the building handed down from his ancestor the historian, that the Catskill
standing in place of the inn is larger and less personal than Mountains had always been haunted by strange beings. That it
its predecessor--a symbol, perhaps, of the way America has was affirmed that the great Hendrick Hudson, the first
become bigger, more industrial, and altogether less friendly discoverer of the river and country, kept a kind of vigil there
to an easygoing sort like Rip. every twenty years.

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Related Characters: Diedrich Knickerbocker (speaker), Revolution, America has become deeply nostalgic for the
Hendrick Hudson / the crew of the Half Moon, Peter "old days." Even if nobody seriously wants to go back to a
Vanderdonk time when George III ruled America, the people of the U.S.
are nostalgic for a time when life was more easygoing, and it
Related Themes: was possible to be laid back and apolitical. Rip Van Winkle is
the very embodiment of his country's nostalgia (both within
Page Number: 40 the story and for Washington Irving).
Explanation and Analysis
In this long expository section, Irving gives us something of
an explanation for Rip Van Winkle's misfortune. Peter He used to tell his story to every stranger that arrived at
Vanderdonk explains that Rip was bewitched and tricked by Dr. Doolittle’s hotel. He was observed, at first, to vary on
the spirits of departed Dutchmen--it's on account of some points every time he told it, which was, doubtless, owing
Hendrick Hudson that Rip has fallen asleep for so long. to his having so recently awaked. It at last settled down
precisely to the tale I have related, and not a man, woman, or
It's interesting that Vanderdonk seems to accept Rip's story
child in the neighborhood but knew it by heart. Some always
almost immediately--Vanderdonk has heard a lot of
pretended to doubt the reality of it, and insisted that Rip had
information about Hudson's ghost, and trusts that Rip really
been out of his head, and this was one point on which he always
has had an experience with the ghostly explorer. Irving isn't
remained flighty. The old Dutch inhabitants, however, almost
(here) concerned with historical plausibility; his goal is to
universally gave it full credit.
convey the sense of the passage of time. Peter
Vanderdonk's explanation is a necessary bit of information,
but Irving doesn't linger on the details, except to show how Related Characters: Diedrich Knickerbocker (speaker), Rip
blurry the line is between historical scholarship and local Van Winkle, Jonathan Doolittle
legend.
Related Themes:

Related Symbols:
Rip now resumed his old walks and habits…[he] was
reverenced as one of the patriarchs of the village, and a Page Number: 41
chronicle of the old times “before the war.”
Explanation and Analysis
Related Characters: Diedrich Knickerbocker (speaker), Rip Here we take our leave of Rip Van Winkle. Rip enjoys
Van Winkle spending his time telling people his remarkable story--he
sits in the Union Hotel that's replaces his old inn, talking to
Related Themes: anyone who'll listen to him. Although Rip has lost some of
his old family (his wife), he's gained a new family--the
Page Number: 40 informal "family" of hotel patrons who listen to him every
evening, as well as his own grown children and grandchild.
Explanation and Analysis
Amusingly, the story ends exactly where it began--by
In this amusing conclusion, we learn that Rip Van Winkle
simultaneously affirming and questioning its own veracity.
basically picks up where he left off. Rip was a lazy young
Knickerbocker assures us that Rip has gotten his story
man, and now he's a lazy old man. The difference is that as
straight, but the very fact that it used to "vary" in its details
an old man, Rip is respected and even "reverenced" in his
undermines the likely truth of the account. And either way,
community--there's no wife to nag him or urge him to do
its now been repeated so many times that some details have
work, and he's not young enough to be expected to
surely been erased or exaggerated along the way. Such are
contribute.
the pitfalls of the American folk tradition that Washington
A further implication of the passage is that, following the Irving lovingly celebrates.

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SUMMARY AND ANAL

ANALYSIS
YSIS
The color-coded icons under each analysis entry make it easy to track where the themes occur most prominently throughout the
work. Each icon corresponds to one of the themes explained in the Themes section of this LitChart.

“RIP VAN WINKLE”

The story opens with a parenthetical note written by an This opening, despite being bracketed in parentheses, is of crucial
omniscient third person narrator, who tells us that the importance in framing the story. The strange insistence on
following tale was written by the late historian Diedrich Knickerbocker’s historical accuracy introduces questions about the
Knickerbocker. Knickerbocker was keenly interested in a difference between history and storytelling or folklore. The author
province in New York at the base of the Catskill mountains, and admits that Knickerbocker did not use books or impartial sources,
which was founded by Dutch settlers long ago.He researched and that critics were at first very skeptical of the truth of Rip Van
the history of this province by listening to first person accounts Winkle’s story, and remain skeptical of its literary merit. The comical
of Dutch families who lived there. Many agree that suggestion that cakes immortalize Knickerbocker reveals that he
Knickerbocker’s talents would have been better spent on more isn’t well-respected, but also suggests that other forms of
important subjects. However, even those who doubt the immortalization – like getting your face on a penny – are also sort of
literary merit of his writings must acknowledge his accuracy. silly and not all that permanent either. That Knickerbocker enjoyed
Knickerbocker died shortly after composing the history we are his research mirrors Rip’s own philosophy of work: that it’s less
about to read, and, though he is not remembered well by critics, important for it to be profitable than for it to be done freely and
commoners in New York remain fond of him. Some bakers have happily.
even printed his face on cakes, which the narrator maintains
gives Knickerbocker “a chance for immortality almost equal to
being stamped on the waterloo medal or a Queen Anne’s
Farthing.” Knickerbocker remained devoted to his hobby until
the end, despite the fact that it offered so little prestige.

Knickerbocker’s story opens with a poem by Cartwright about The initial juxtaposition of Cartwright’s words about truth and
truth. He then proceeds to describe the “magical” beauty of the Knickerbocker’s description of the “magic” of the Catskills again
Catskills. He zeroes in on a small village at the foot of these complicates the notion of historical “accuracy.” Can “history”
mountains, where a good-natured man named Rip Van Winkle incorporate folklore or mythology? What’s more, we discover that
lives. Rip’s greatest trouble is his wife, Dame Van Winkle, who is much like Knickerbocker himself, Rip Van Winkle prefers and enjoys
shrewish and constantly nagging Rip about hisbiggest labor that is not profitable or held in high esteem. Though Rip
weakness: that he can find no motivation to engage in cherishes his freedom, he does not actively rebel against his wife’s
profitable labor of any kind.Though he is happy to help on control. He still lives as he wishes, however, and it is suggested that
properties that are not his own, he avoids work on his own farm his habits (along with his name) are being passed down to his son.
and his land is severely run down. His children are unruly, and
his son, Rip Van Winkle Jr. is determined to grow up to be just
like his father. His wife’s lecturing is incessant, but Rip’s
response is always resigned: he shrugs his shoulders, shakes his
head, and looks up to the sky.

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The only way Rip can avoid his angry wife is to escape his home. The inn is a hotspot of unproductive labor. Lazy Nicholas Vedder
Rip used to enjoy going to the inn and participating in idle talk spends his whole day pursuing, rather than profit or personal gain,
with his neighbors. Much of the conversation is simple town the shade of the big tree. Even more notable is Derrick Van Bummel,
gossip. But the schoolmaster Derrick Van Bummel is said to who uses his considerable intelligence to debate about events that
have facilitated many a meaningful discussion of politics and happened many months ago. Though the narrator notes how
current events. He is a well-spoken and well-educated man articulately and passionately Derrick spoke about the papers, the
who, when he happens to find an old newspaper, debates reader can understand that the exercise is ultimately useless. The
earnestly about the eventsdescribed within, months after inn is a place to avoid duty and productivity, where labor is
they’ve taken place. The landlord of the inn is an old patriarch enjoyable, not profitable. Dame Van Winkle’s discovery of the inn
named Nicholas Vedder, who spends every day pursuing the therefore drives Rip to seek escape elsewhere.
shade of a large tree outside the inn: when the sun moves
enough that the shady spot changes, Vedder moves with it.
However, even this pleasant environment fails to protect Rip.
Eventually his wife discovers him there and hounds him.

Rip must now find a new sanctuary from his wife’s berating. He The introduction of these ghostly figures transforms the story from a
takes to roaming the woods with his gun and his dog, Wolf. One supposedly dry historical account to one containing fantastical and
day in autumn, he absently wanders high up in to the mountains mystical elements. The magical appearance of the Catskills
while hunting squirrels. He is fatigued from the climb and sits mentioned in the first line is revealed as no mere metaphor: there
down to rest in a scenic glen. He falls asleep. When he wakes, are in fact (at least in Knickerbocker and Rip’s mind) magical beings
he seems to hear a voice calling his name and soon perceives a that inhabit the highest peaks of the mountain. Once again it is
stranger standing on the trail, carrying a stout keg on his back. suggested that historical fact is not the only thing relevant to a
Rip is compelled to follow this stranger, though he can’t say country’s history. The antiquated dress of the strangers (and Rip’s
why. He helps the stranger carry the keg up to the top of a peak, confusion about it) foreshadows Rip’s return to town later in the
where a group of men is playing a ghostly game of ninepins (a story (when he will appear strangely old-fashioned to the residents
game similar to bowling). Rip notices their clothing is there). The magical drink that Rip takes is irresistible, just like the
antiquated, traditionally Dutch garb, and that they seem to take promise of escape and freedom that drew Rip up the mountain in
no enjoyment out of their game. When they see Rip they stop the first place.
playing, andsilently direct Rip to pour the drink from the keg
into flagons to serve the men. Rip is scared at first, but
eventually calms down and even goes so far as to sneak a sip of
the drink. He finds it so irresistible that he consumes a great
deal of it and falls asleep.

When Rip wakes up it is bright and sunny outside. The Rip’s disorientation in this scene begins to build a sense of
strangers on the mountain are gone, and there is no sign that strangeness and dread that contrasts with the bright and pretty
they had ever been there. He fears that he has spent the entire natural surroundings. Rip’s worries (about his wife) are quickly made
night asleep on the mountain and dreads the inevitable fury of to seem inconsequential in the face of these mysterious
his wife. When he looks for his gun, all he can find is a rusty old circumstances. While Rip is worrying about the same things he has
one, and he believes someone swiped his gun and replaced it. always worried about (evading his wife’s anger), the clues in his
Wolf is nowhere to be found. Strangest of all is that Rip’s beard environment tell us—the readers—that something has changed even
is now a foot long. Rip spends some time searching for his lost if Rip doesn’t quite yet realize it.
dog, but the terrain is strange to him and hunger eventually
drives him down the mountain.

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When Rip reaches his village at the base of the mountain, he The tension continues to climb as Rip slowly begins to register the
notices that it seems more populous and the buildings more dramatic changes that have taken place since his time on the
numerous. A group of children, none of whom are familiar to mountain. His wife is gone, his dog is old and does not recognize
him, begin following him and pointing at his beard. He goes to him, and his house and property look as though they’ve been
his home, expecting at any moment to hear the shrill reprimand abandoned. The clash between expectations of sameness and
of Dame Van Winkle, but when he arrives, his usually tidy home evidence of dramatic change is coming to a head.
has fallen into a state of utter disrepair. An old, emaciated dog
resembling Wolf lurks around the yard, but does not recognize
Rip and growls at him.

Increasingly unsettled, Rip hurries to the old inn, but finds in its The transformation of the inn is even more significant: it has
place an establishment called The Union Hotel. The portrait of changed from a place of idle unproductivity where lazy men talk
King George III on the sign has been changed to a portrait of over long-past news to a bustling political hub contemplating a
someone called General George Washington. Rip’s panicked coming election. Future elected President George Washington
demeanor, ratty clothes and unkempt face draw attention from (unknown to Rip) now oversees the industrious activity of free
tavern politicians and townsfolk. They inquire about his citizens. Before, the face of Tyrant King George presided over the
intentions and wonder if he has come to interrupt the election. unproductiveactivities of the village men enjoying their leisure. The
Utterly bewildered, Rip introduces himself as a native of the rage Rip incites when he declares himself a subject of the king
village and a loyal subject of the King. The response is an definitively confirms his status as a strangeoutsider.
uproar from the villagers who accuse Rip of being a spy.

The crowd is finally calmed enough to hear Rip’s version of The implications of Rip’s sleep become increasingly clear. He has
events. He offers to give the names of the neighbors he was dozed peacefully through the American Revolution, while all of his
searching for, and in doing so hears that Nicholas Vedder has friends are either dead or permanently changed by the war (such as
been dead 18 years, that Brom Dutcher has died in the Derrick Van Bummel who now works, productively, in Congress. Rip
American Revolutionary War, that Derrick Van Bummel is now slept while his world utterly changed. Yet the comical death of Rip’s
working in the American congress, and that he, Rip Van Winkle, wife means that Rip Van Winkle is freed (though through no action
has been missing for 20 years. His son is now grown, and a of his own) from more than one tyrant. And, even in the face of all
perfect likeness of himself. His wife has died after she burst a this change, certain elements of stasis stand out: Rip’s son is
blood vessel in a fit of rage at a New England peddler. Rip cries identical to his father, and the introduction of a third Rip Van
in confusion but is comforted when a woman carrying a baby Winkle suggests a kind of comforting indefinite continuity.Thus the
comes forward to get a look at him soon identifies herself as his hero’s ultimate accomplishment is his ability to resist the drive to
daughter, Judith Gardenier. She is now grown and has an infant progress and change.
son, Rip Van Winkle III. Rip now accepts that he has been
asleep for 20 years, and tells his incredible story to his
remaining family and the village.

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The villagers wonder at his story, and are unsure whether or Once again, the issue of credibility is raised—the villagers question
not to believe him. Eventually Rip’s story is corroborated by the Rip’s story in much the same way Knickerbocker’s critics did. The
most ancient man in the village, Peter Vanderdonk. Vanderdonk corroboration offered by Vanderdonk, while meant to relieve
recalls Rip Van Winkle from before his disappearance, and doubts, raises even more questions for the reader, as his story
explains that the Catskill Mountains have long been haunted by involves the haunting of the Catskill mountains by a mutinied ship
Hendrick Hudson and the Half Moon crew. (Hudson was a captain. (It should be noted that the mutiny of Hudson by his crew
Dutch explorer in the early 17th century who sailed up the echoes the violent overthrow of King George III’s rule by his citizens
river in New York that now bears his name. Later, he was who then created the United States.) That it turns out that the
mutinied by his crew and set adrift along with those loyal to villagers are happy to believe Rip and return to their work on the
him and never seen again.) Having been completely convinced election, reminds us that this “history” is not merely
of Rip’s story’s veracity, the villagers turn their attention back factual—perhaps a nation’s “history” must include more than
to the more important matter of the first presidential election factual details.
in the newly minted United States of America.

Rip moves in with his daughter and lives out his days in leisure In spite of all of the dramatic changes just revealed to us, Rip goes
(as he did before, but without his wife’s haranguing). Because of on living in much the same way he did before. He thus becomes a
his advanced age, no one has any expectation that will perform figure who stands for sameness and the past, and links the peaceful
any duties or chores. He tells his story daily at The Union Hotel, and slow time before the Revolutionary war to the bustling time
and though he initially varies on some details, he eventually after. There is a wisp of a suggestion here that Rip – with his
becomes completely consistent. In a final note, Knickerbocker generous laziness, his meandering pursuit of minor, personal, joyful
suggests those who doubt Rip’s credibility are only pretending unproductive labor, and his story of magic and connection to the
to doubt him, and assures the reader that the Dutch deep past –offers a kind of necessary balance to this new country
inhabitants of the Catskills are almost universally agreed on built on rational enlightenment thought and a zest for economic
the story’s truth. growth. The issue of Rip’s perfectaccuracy is raised one last time,
emphasizing the integral role mythology and folklore has played in
this village’shistory (and perhaps suggesting the need for adistinctly
American folk history).

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To cite any of the quotes from Rip Van Winkle covered in the
HOW T
TO
O CITE Quotes section of this LitChart:
To cite this LitChart: MLA
MLA Irving, Washington. Rip Van Winkle. Penguin Classics. 1999.
Winner, Kathryn. "Rip Van Winkle." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 16 CHICA
CHICAGO
GO MANU
MANUAL
AL
May 2015. Web. 21 Apr 2020.
Irving, Washington. Rip Van Winkle. New York: Penguin Classics.
CHICA
CHICAGO
GO MANU
MANUAL
AL 1999.
Winner, Kathryn. "Rip Van Winkle." LitCharts LLC, May 16, 2015.
Retrieved April 21, 2020. https://www.litcharts.com/lit/rip-van-
winkle.

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