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Ciobanu Cosmina Ștefana

Professor Alexandra Băcalu

American Literature – Seminar

th
29 of May 2022

Various themes in Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving

Washington Irving was an American writer of the early 19th century, famous for his

established humorous prose with a slight accent on political satire. He is best known for Rip Van

Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow which appeared in his volume named "The Sketch

Book of Geoffrey Crayon". His literary work also includes biographies of renowned personalities

(such as George Washington), as well as short stories about 15th century Spain.

Rip Van Winkle is a short narrative published in 1819 which depicts the story of an

American villager with Dutch roots who encounters some Dutchmen in the mountains and, after

their meeting, wakes up after 20 years. In a humorous context, Irving also approaches some

political and identity issues as he presents the life of the lazy Rip Van Winkle and his dreadful

marriage with his pestering wife – Dame Van Winkle.

My goal in this paper is to analyze the main themes presented in the short story Rip Van

Winkle written by Washington Irving. To achieve this, I organized my essay into three

paragraphs which discuss in detail the topic mentioned above.

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Throughout Rip Van Winkle, the reader effortlessly acknowledges the fundamental ideas

of the story, which the author conveys through themes. The most important themes addressed in

Rip Van Winkle are the concepts of tyranny and freedom, passiveness, and labor vs. productivity.

From the beginning, this theme of tyranny is clearly presented through Rip's eyes who

experiences the tyranny of marriage. The protagonist wants to escape his always-nagging wife's

commands and criticism and he usually hides from her at the inn or in the forest. "His wife kept

continually dinning in his ears about his idleness, his carelessness, and the ruin he was bringing

on his family. Morning, noon, and night, her tongue was incessantly going, and everything he

said or did was sure to produce a torrent of household eloquence. Rip had but one way of

replying to all lectures of the kind, and that, by frequent use, had grown into a habit. He

shrugged his shoulders, shook his head, cast up his eyes, but said nothing." (Irving 9) Dame Van

Winkle, his wife, is Rip's main opponent, even though between them is never a direct battle. His

only bolt for freedom unfolds after her death, but until that moment, he simply avoids her.

During his deep nap, his wife dies after bursting a blood vessel, this moment establishing Rip's

freedom from a despotic marriage. Moreover, the theme of tyranny is also introduced through

day-to-day responsibilities. Rip – a man in all his nature – is expected to be productive, hard-

working, and eager to help around the house, but he does not conform to the expectations of his

wife, as well as to those of society. "Rip Van Winkle, however, was one of those happy mortals,

of foolish, well-oiled dispositions, who take the world easy, eat white bread or brown, whichever

can be got with least thought or trouble, and would rather starve on a penny than work for a

pound." (Irving 9) This quote highlights Rip's unwillingness to work and his passive state. After

his profound sleep, Rip is delighted to acknowledge the fact that he aged to the point where
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nobody expects him to be industrious and diligent. These two revelations represent the liberty he

has always desired.

The main character – Rip – is a man who has always wished to be truly free from his

pestiferous wife and her orders, from his daily duties and the tyranny of the king. Despite his

longing for freedom, Rip doesn't do anything to achieve it. In contrast with other characters in

the story, Rip is in an always passive state, never actually fighting for his liberty: "The very

character of the people seemed changed. There was a busy, bustling, disputatious tone about it,

instead of the accustomed phlegm and drowsy tranquility." (Irving 15) Regarding his terrible

relationship with his wife, Rip only responds by throwing up his hands, looking up at the sky,

and shaking his head. Sometimes, he even goes so far as to avoid her, hiding at the inn or in the

forest. He never fights her. He simply obeys or stays away from her. As far as it concerns the

obtaining of liberty from the king, Rip sleeps through the American Revolution and, without

realizing it, by doing that he frees himself. As mentioned before, he never actually does

something to free himself – he just naps through a war and misses the revolution and the death of

his wife.

The theme of labor vs. productivity is emphasized through Rip's choices regarding the

notion of work. He chooses to help around other farms and gardens – working without any

financial gain – but he never tends his own land. "The great error in Rip's composition was an

insuperable aversion to all kinds of profitable labor. It could not be from the want of assiduity or

perseverance; for he would sit on a wet rock, with a rod as long and heavy as a Tartar's lance,

and fish all day without a murmur, even though he should not be encouraged by a single

nibble…in a word, Rip was ready to attend to anybody's business but his own; but as to doing
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family duty, and keeping his farm in order, it was impossible." (Irving 8) Rip is the most

eloquent example of someone who labors without a profit. Rip's hobbies are not productive, they

just fill his free time - he goes fishing and squirrel hunting or works free of charge for his

neighbors. Moreover, in Staley's article - Rip Van Winkle's 'Odyssey – the main character's

circumstance is compared with Ulysses's journey, resulting in that Rip is Ulysses's indolent twin.

"Rip leaves home for twenty years, just as Odysseus did; however, unlike Odysseus, Rip spends

this time not heroically fighting and adventuring but sleeping away his mature years. When he

finally returns home, then, it is no surprise that the dog in front of his house 'has forgotten' him,

unlike Odysseus's dog, who greets his master with a tail-wag of recognition. Irving creates in

Rip Van Winkle an ironic and humorous embodiment of an Odysseus/Ulysses who, as quoted

above, was 'more indebted to his sleeping than his waking moments for his most subtle

achievements'." (Staley 90) Furthermore, this comparison with Ulysses intensifies the main idea

that Rip is an indolent man who is in a passive state and who is not able to escape his fate by

fighting for freedom.

To conclude, from examining Irving's narrative Rip Van Winkle, I can state that the main

themes which distinguish are the notions of tyranny and freedom, passiveness, and labor vs.

productivity. All three themes satirize in an entertaining way every aspect of the frivolous world

of Rip, with a little twist of politics.

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Works Cited

Irving, Washington. “Rip Van Winkle.” Penguin Classics, 2016.

Staley, Gregory A. “Rip Van Winkle’s ‘Odyssey’.’” Greece & Rome, vol. 59, no. 1, 2012, pp.

90–103. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23275158. Accessed 29 May 2022.