Rip Van Winkle: A Posthumous Writing of Diedrick Knickerbocker
Washington Irving
Rip now resumed his old walks and habits; he soon found many of his former cronies, though all rather the worse for the wear and tear of time; and preferred making friends among the rising generation, with whom he soon grew into great favor. Having nothing to do at home, and being arrived at that happy age when a man can be idle, with impunity, he took his place once more on the bench at the inn door and was reverenced as one of the patriarchs of the village and a chronicle of the old times “before the war.” It was some time before he could get into the regular track of gossip, or could be made to comprehend the strange events that had taken place during his torpor. How that there had been a revolutionary war—that the country had thrown off the yoke of Old England and that instead of being a subject of his majesty George the Third, he was now a free citizen of the United States. Rip in fact was no politician; the changes of states and empires made but little impression on him; but there was one species of despotism under which he had long groaned and that was petticoat government. Happily that was at an end—he had got his neck out of the yoke of matrimony, and could go in and out whenever he pleased without dreading the tyranny of Dame Van Winkle. Whenever her name was mentioned, however, he shook his head, shrugged his shoulders, and cast up his eyes; which might pass either for an expression of resignation to his fate or joy at his deliverance.
He used to tell his story to every stranger that arrived at Mr. Doolittle’s Hotel. He was observed at first to vary on some points, every time he told it, which was doubtless owing to his having so recently awaked. It at last settled down precisely to the tale I have related and not a man, woman, or child in the neighborhood but knew it by heart. Some always pretended to doubt the reality of it, and insisted that Rip had been out of his head, and that this was one point on which he always remained flighty. The old Dutch inhabitants, however, almost universally gave it full credit—Even to this day they never hear a thunderstorm of a summer afternoon about the Kaatskill, but they say Hendrick Hudson and his crew are at their game of ninepins; and it is a common wish of all henpecked husbands in the neighborhood, when life hangs heavy on their hands, that they might have a quieting draft out of Rip Van Winkle’s flagon.
Note
The foregoing tale one would suspect had been suggested to Mr. Knickerbocker by a little German superstition about the emperor Frederick der Rothbart and the Kypphäuser
Mountain; the subjoined note, however, which he had appended to the tale, shows that it is an absolute fact, narrated with his usual fidelity.—
“The story of Rip Van Winkle may seem incredible to many, but nevertheless I give it my full belief, for I know the vicinity of our old Dutch settlements to have been very subject to marvelous events and appearances. Indeed I have heard many stranger stories than this, in the villages along the Hudson; all of which were too well authenticated to admit of a doubt. I have even talked with Rip Van Winkle myself, who when last I saw him was a very venerable old man and so perfectly rational and consistent on every other point, that I think no conscientious person could refuse to take this into the bargain—nay I have seen a certificate on the subject taken before a country justice and signed with a cross in the justice’s own handwriting. The story therefore is beyond the possibility of doubt.
D. K.”
Making Meaning
Rip Van Winkle
1. In what ways is this a classic story of wish fulfillment?
2. In his introductory note, the narrator (who is Geoffrey Crayon) explains that the manuscript of “Rip Van Winkle” was written by Diedrich Knickerbocker, the narrator of Irving’s earlier History of New York. How does Irving use his two narrators—Geoffrey Crayon and Diedrich Knickerbocker—to defend the tale’s credibility? How would you describe Irving’s tone in these introductory passages?
3. What details in “Rip Van Winkle” do you think reveal a Romantic fascination with the past and nature? Find some descriptions of the setting that you think reflect a Romantic’s point of view.
4. Irving was a Romantic, but he was also a satirist. What elements of this story—including the narrator’s commentaries—are satirical? Who or what are Irving’s targets?
5. How would you state the theme of this story?
6. Do you find “Rip” humorous, or do you think it’s too outdated to be funny to us today? Explain your response with examples from the story.
7. How does the fictional character of Rip Van Winkle contrast with the historical character of Benjamin Franklin, the self-made man (Collection 2)? Where do you still see both character types in American life today?
8. Dame Van Winkle and Rip are stereotyped characters that have been found in literature throughout the ages—the nagging wife and the henpecked husband. Can you identify these character types in current literature and in popular movies and TV shows? What is your response to Irving’s characterization of Dame Van Winkle?