Romantic Era: Literary Criticism of Rip Van Winkle

International Journal of Culture and History, Vol. 4, No. 4, December 2018

Feudal Aristocracy‟s Escape: A Marxist Approach to
“Rip Van Winkle”

Liu Liu and Yu Sun

revolution, and communism.” [2] The Marxist critics focus
Abstract—“Rip Van Winkle”, published in 1819, is a short

story by American writer Washington Irving. The story is set in
New York’s Catskill. Main character of the short story is Rip
Van Winkle, a Dutch-American villager living around the time
of the American Revolutionary War. The relation between Rip
Van Winkle and his cantankerous wife is quite unusual. This
paper aims to analyze the short story from the perspective of
Marxism, and the theory of economic determinism and
symbolism will be applied in the analysis. From the Marxist
perspective, some characters and plots all have their symbolic
meanings related to class struggles. Through this Marxist
analysis, a better understanding of Rip Van Winkle’s family
relations and the social circumstances of that time can be
reached.

Index Terms—“Rip Van Winkle”, Marxism, economic
determinism, class conflict.

I. INTRODUCTION

Washington Irving (1783 – 1859) is an American short
story writer born in the early 19th century. “Rip Van Winkle”
is one of his best-known short stories. The story is set around
the time of the American Revolutionary War in the state of
New York‟s Catskill Mountains. Before the American
Revolutionary War, which lasted from 1775 to 1783, America
was still under the colonial domination of England. America
was also a patriarchal society at that time, in which the male
rather than the female has the dominant power both in the
family and in society. The main reason is that the male has
much more advantages in producing activities than the
female,
and most females at that time had not gained their economic
independence. However, in Rip Van Winkle‟s family, things
are quite different from the common family situation of that
time. Rip Van Winkle is at a much lower position than his
wife, and he is quite afraid of her. His wife often scolds him:
“his wife kept continually dinning in his ears about his
idleness, his carelessness, and the ruin he was bringing on his
family.” [1]

Marxism is regarded both as “a political science and a
literary approach.” [2] “The classical Marxist flourished
chiefly in a period from Marx and Engels to the Second
World War. It characterizes itself by an insistence on at least
the following basic tenets: materialism, economic
determinism, class struggle, surplus value, reification,
proletarian

Manuscript received September 25, 2018; revised December 1, 2018.
This work was sponsored by the Seed Foundation of Innovation and
Creation for Graduate Students in Northwestern Polytechnical University
under Grant ZZ2018244.

Liu Liu and Yu Sun are with School of Foreign Studies, Northwestern
Polytechnical University, Xi‟an 710072, PR China (e-mail:

liuliuastrid@163.com sunyu@nwpu.edu.cn).

doi: 10.18178/ijch.2018.4.4.136 133
more on the content of literature than its form, for “content
was much more ideologically charged.” [2] With the Marxist
theories, an ideological criticism to “Rip Van Winkle” can be
achieved. Some Marxists believe that “the features of a
cultural text were strictly determined by or interpreted in
terms of the economic and social conditions of its production
and by the class status of its author.” [2]

II. RIP VAN WINKLE AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE FEUDAL
ARISTOCRACY

The short story was published in 1819. At the beginning of
the 19th century, the American Industrial Revolution began.
The traditional agricultural civilization was struck by the
emerging industrial civilization. The author Washing Irving
himself has witnessed this revolution. Washing Irving is not
only a writer, but also a statesman who could be very
sensitive to social changes. Irving had served as the U.S.
ambassador to Spain. From this perspective, the ongoing
social upheaval may influence his creative work. If “Rip Van
Winkle” is interpreted with its social background, many
implicit clues and symbolism can be found.

A. Rip Van Winkle’s Lifestyle

Rip Van Winkle is a farmer in a village near the Catskill
Mountains. Irving describes Rip Van Winkle‟s disposition
like this, “the great error in Rip‟s composition was an
insuperable aversion to all kinds of profitable labor.” [1] He
wastes his assiduity and perseverance on some unnecessary
trifles, like fishing, hunting, and helping neighbors. As
Winkle refuses to do the farm work and housework for the
family, the burden is on his wife‟s shoulders. Winkle has a
bad relation with his wife, who often curses at him. He often
goes to a club in the village when driven from home. The
club is composed of “sages, philosophers, and other idle
personages of the village.” [1] “Here they used to sit in the
shade through a long lazy summer‟s day, talking listlessly
over village gossip, or telling endless sleepy stories about
nothing.” [1] Nicholas Vedder is the leader of this junto, who
is also the patriarch of the village. The author describes
Nicholas Vedder‟s life with a sarcastic tone: “at the door of
which he took his seat from morning till night, just moving
sufficiently to avoid the sun and keep in the shade of a large
tree; so that the neighbors could tell the hour by his
movements as accurately as by a sun dial.” [1] It can be
drawn from the text that Winkle is not a particular case in his
time, there is a group of people who live a similar life to Rip.
In other words, Rip Van Winkle represents a group of people
in the agricultural society, and he is the most typical one. Rip

International Journal of Culture and History, Vol. 4, No. 4, December 2018

Van Winkle and his fellows try to escape the family burden,
and live a carefree life. “The production of ideas, concepts
and consciousness is first of all directly interwoven with the
material intercourse of man, the language of real life.
Conceiving, thinking, the spiritual intercourse of men, appear
here as the direct efflux of men‟s material behaviour…” [3]
Rip and his fellows‟ lifestyle and life concept are reflections
of their laggard production mode — the agricultural
production method. All in all, the idle lifestyle of Rip and his
fellows is determined by their backward production mode.

“Lazy” is not the only feature of Rip Van Winkle and his
fellows‟ lifestyle. They live a life behind their time.
Sometimes they have “profound discussions” when “by
chance an old newspaper fell into their hands from some
passing traveller.” [1] “How sagely they would deliberate
upon public events some months after they had taken place.”
[1] The way they get information about the outside world is
through passing traveller, and the news they discuss heatedly
about is already out-of-date. It seems that they have been
abandoned by the fast-developing world. It is quite ironic to
put “profound discussions” and “old newspaper” together. It
is completely meaningless to discuss profoundly about old
news. From this ridiculous contrast, we can see that the small
village of Rip is ignorant and uninformed, which is the
typical feature of the agricultural society. The village is left
behind by the outside world.

B. Rip Van Winkle’s Family Status

The family status of Rip symbolizes the status of the
feudal aristocracy. The family status of Rip Van Winkle is
very low. He is an “obedient hen-pecked husband” to his
shrewish wife. “Morning, noon, and night, her tongue was
incessantly going, and everything he said or did was sure to
produce a torrent of household eloquence.” [1] Besides,
Winkle is often driven out of home by his wife. His wife‟s
bad temper is not the only reason for this situation. Winkle
gives up his dignity along with his duty. His farm is “the
most pestilent little piece of ground in the whole country.”
[1] Due to Winkle‟s laziness, “his patrimonial estate had
dwindled away under his management, acre by acre, until
there was little more left than a mere patch of Indian corn
and potatoes, yet it was the worst conditioned farm in the
neighborhood.” [1] Winkle‟s children also suffered from his
laziness, “his children, too, were as ragged and wild as if
they belonged to nobody.” [1]

The decline of the agricultural society is reflected through
the situation of Rip. Rip‟s ancestors were once honorable, “he
was a descendant of the Van Winkles who figured so gallantly
in the chivalrous days of Peter Stuyvesant, and accompanied
him to the siege of Fort Christina.” [1] But the honor does not
last to Rip‟s days, “he inherited, however, but little of the
material character of his ancestors.” [1] It symbolizes that the
prosperity of the traditional agricultural society has gone, and
people who cannot adapt to the changes of the society like
Rip, will be left behind by the time.

III. THE CONFLICT BETWEEN FEUDAL ARISTOCRACY AND
THE CAPITALIST

The reason for the unusual family relations of Rip Van
Winkle is his family‟s economic situation. In Rip Van

134
Winkle‟s family, his wife but not him is the breadwinner, and

Rip Van Winkle does not take the responsibility of working
and earning money. According to Marx, the superstructure is
determined by the economic base. So, the family positions of
Rip Van Winkle and his wife are determined by their
economic positions. As the bred-winner in the family, Dame
Van Winkle has more right of speech than Rip Van Winkle.

The story is written during the American Industrial
Revolution. The industrial society is beginning to strike the
agricultural society, and will replace it later. According to
Marx, “The economic structure of capitalist society has grown
out of the economic structure of feudal society. The
dissolution of the latter set free the elements of the former.”
[4]
From the perspective of Marxists, “literature grows out of and
reflects real material/historical conditions.” [5] Take a look at
the character of Rip Van Winkle and his wife with this
historical background, it is not difficult to find that Rip Van
Winkle and his wife Dame Van Winkle actually represents
two social classes. Rip Van Winkle represents the feudal
aristocracy, while his wife represents the capitalist class. And
the conflicts between Rip Van Winkle and his wife can be
seen as the conflicts between the two social classes.

The feudal aristocracy does not join producing activities,
but to exploit the capitalist class and peasantry. In the story,
Rip Van Winkle does the same thing. He depends on his wife
for a living instead of working by himself, and he hates
working, “The great error in Rip‟s composition was an
insuperable aversion to all kinds of profitable labor.” [1] The
feudal aristocracy exploits the other classes by its remaining
feudal influence, and Rip Van Winkle exploits his wife by the
remaining patriarchal power. Besides, like the feudal

aristocracy, he hates working and leads a life of pleasure, “If
left to himself, he would have whistled life away in perfect
contentment;” [1], “Here they used to sit in the shade through
a long lazy summer‟s day, talking listlessly over village
gossip, or telling endless sleepy stories about nothing.” [1]
The lifestyle of Rip Van Winkle is the idyllic life, which is
very typical in the traditional feudal society. With the rising
of modern industry, the power of the feudal aristocracy are
declining. Similarly, Rip Van Winkle‟s economic condition is
worsening and his life quality is falling, “His fences were
continually falling to pieces; his cow would either go astray,
or get among the cabbages; weeds were sure to grow quicker
in his fields than anywhere else; the rain always made a point
of setting in just as he had some out-door work to do.” [1] His
condition in family assembles the feudal aristocracy‟s social
condition. Rip Van Winkle is mild-tempered, polite, and glad
to help the women in the village, which is like the well-bred
and genteel feudal aristocracy.

As for Dame Van Winkle, she works hard to earn food and
money, just like what the capitalist class do during the
accumulation of capital. And she has to provide for her lazy
and incompetent husband, which assembles the capitalist
class that has been exploited by the feudal aristocracy. And
her lifestyle is much more practical than Rip Van Winkle. She
manages the whole family without the help of Winkle, so it‟s
not difficult to see that Dame Van Winkle is quite competent
and has little time to have entertainment. As Winkle‟s family
position keeps falling, “Times grew worse and worse with
Rip Van Winkle as years of matrimony rolled on; a tart
temper

International Journal of Culture and History, Vol. 4, No. 4, December 2018

never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the only edged
tool that grows keener with constant use.” [1], Dame Van
Winkle‟s family position is rising, which assembles the
capitalist class‟s rising social position. Dame Van Winkle is a
cantankerous woman. The author uses words like
“termagant” and “virago” to describe her. Similarly, the
capitalist class are used to be criticized as a vulgar class.

The conflicts between Rip Van Winkle and Dame Van
Winkle symbolize the combat for economic and political
hegemony between the feudal aristocracy and the capitalist
class. In this combat, the capitalist class are beginning to
have the upper hand. But the capitalist class still has to
compromise with the feudal aristocracy. For example, they
still have to put up with the feudal aristocracy‟s exploitation.
In the story, Rip Van Winkle cannot bear his wife‟s curse
and runs into the mountain to find himself some comfort.
Then he drinks the beverage of an old man and falls asleep.
When he wakes up, twenty years have passed, and
everything has changed. Actually, Winkle uses a long sleep
to escape his wife. When he wakes up, his wife is already
dead, “Rip had but one question more to ask; but he put it
with a faltering voice: „Where‟s your mother?‟ „Oh, she too
had died but a short time since; she broke a blood-vessel in a
fit of passion at a New-England peddler.‟” [1]

Winkle‟s long sleep symbolizes feudal aristocracy‟s
escape in the combat against the capitalist class. At the end
of the story, Winkle‟s wife is dead, but everything in the
village has changed. “The very village was altered; it was
larger and more populous. There were rows of houses which
he had never seen before.” [1] That is the outcome of the
industrialization. The village scales up and develops. Rip‟s
familiar haunts has disappeared, and his old acquaintances

all passed away or left. It symbolizes the disassembly of the
traditional agricultural society. The industrialization has
changed the village and the way people lives. The villagers
cares about the election now. Winkle‟s son, who is a copy of
him, has to abandon his old lifestyle for the time has
changed, “As to Rip‟s son and heir, who was the ditto of
himself, seen leaning against the tree, he was employed to
work on the farm; but evinced an hereditary disposition to
attend to anything else but his business.” [1] At last, the
capitalist class wins by changing the society with some
prices and compromises. The ending of the story can be seen
as a compromise of feudal aristocracy and the capitalist
class.

IV. CONCLUSION

All in all, family positions and social positions are
determined by economic positions. Rip Van Winkle
represents the feudal aristocracy with backward productive
forces and traditional idyllic lifestyle in the agricultural
society; while, his wife Dame Van Winkle stands for the
capitalist class with advanced productive forces and practical
lifestyle in the industrial society. In their combat for
economic and political hegemony, the feudal aristocracy
chooses to

135
escape under a disadvantaged condition. Finally, the
capitalist class wins for they represent advanced productive

forces and are in a much better economic condition. But, the
social changes are a gradual process. It is not possible for
the capital class to defeat the feudal aristocracy completely
during the Industrial Revolution, and there are still some
compromises for the capitalist class to make.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We would like to express our gratitude to the School of
Foreign studies and the Graduate School of Northwestern
Polytechnical University for the support.

Liu Liu also thanks her supervisor Prof. Yu Sun for her
generous guidance and consistent encouragement.

REFERENCES

[1] W. Irving, The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent, New York:
Penguin Books, 1988, pp. 29-40.

[2] G. Zhu, Twentieth Century Western Critical Theories, Shanghai:
Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2001, pp. 58-59. [3] K. Marx
and F. Engels, The German Ideology, New York: Martino Fine Books,
2011, p. 6.
[4] K. Marx, Capital Vol.1, New York: Kessinger Publishing, 2010, p. 322.
[5] L. Tyson, Critical Theory Today: A User-friendly Guide, New York:

Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2006, p. 66.

Liu Liu was born in Baoding, China, in August, 1993.
She received her bachelor degree of arts in English,

Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi‟an, China,
in 2016.

She is pursing the master degree of arts in
Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi‟an, China,

in British and American literature. Her research
interests are 20th century American novels and spatial

narrative theories.
She has participated the 2017 International Conference on English &

American Literature in Shanghai, China, the 2017 3rd International
Conference on Culture, Languages and Literature in Penang, Malaysia, and
the international conference of “Memories and Visions: China‟s Ties with
the Outside World through the Belt and Road Initiative” in Xi‟an, China.
She has published a paper “An Interpretation of the Symbolism in The
House on Mango Street in Terms of Ideational Function” on International
Journal of Languages, Literature and Linguistics (IJLLL), 2017.12. Vol.3.
She directs the research project “A Study of the Female Space in 20th
Century Chinese and American Wartime Literature.” This project is
sponsored by the Seed Foundation of Innovation and Creation for Graduate
Students in Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Yu Sun was born in Wuhan, China, in June 1971. She
is a visiting scholar of University of Maryland,

America since 2014. She received her master of arts in
English language and literature from Northwestern

Polytechnical University, Xi‟an, China, 2000.
She is the director in the Arts Education Centre of

Northwestern Polytechnical University and also the
graduate advisor on literature and translation.

Prof. Sun is also a member of Translators
Association of China and the reviewer of China Scholarship Council.

Assignment:
1. In Class: Read “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving ( see text:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/175TXtcgci5YiAVbimgevoUF-UjVgV9ajxy5g_eNM2BQ/edit
?usp=sharing)

2. In Class: As you read, please listen to the following audiobook:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQnTNmipwCw•

3. In Class: Please read the following crittical text ( focus on the THIRD section): text
http://www.ijch.net/vol4/136-CL1047

Prior to writing: please explore the Venn Diagram modeling ( see attached):
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1MgKnuGuSyMyTWABMsnkW7sd4rFPgNtWFl8deey6T
7ts/edit?usp=sharing

4. Assignment: Please write a short paragraph response and upload the assignment here.
Answer the following question:

Focusing on the third section of the article, entitled “The Conflict Between Fuedal Aristocracy and
the Capitalist,” how do the authors of the Marxist literary approach of “Rip Van Winkle” create
their argument regarding the struggle from one style of government to another? In other words,
how do the authors show the struggles of the American economy during the shift from a
monarchy to a democratic republic?

In your response, please make sure you have the following:
1. Topic Sentence ( answers the question)

Ex. Within the critical analytical text entitled “TheFeudal Aristocracy‟s Escape: A Marxist
Approach to ‘Rip Van Winkle,'” the authors Son and Liu claim….

2. Evidence from criticism text ( one quote). Remember to cite!
ex. Within Liu and Son’s text, the author states….

3. How (what specific element of the information you selected) is this evidence important to
the question?

4. Agree or Disagree with Liu and Son’s assessment of “Rip Van Winkle”
5. Support your claim with one quote from “Rip Van Winkle”
6. Why is it important to answering the prompt/question?
7. Concluding thoughts

ex. Therefore, Liu and Son’s critical approach to “Rip Van Winkle” is….

Support:
1. Themes of American Romanticism:
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-ushistory/chapter/the-emergence-of-american-lit
erature/#:~:text=American%20Romanticism%20emphasized%20emotion%2C%20individualism,a
nd%20the%20constraints%20of%20religion.
2. Loom Instructional Video :
https://www.loom.com/share/7cde17c68bcb4222bbc27088b4a9e65f

https://docs.google.com/document/d/175TXtcgci5YiAVbimgevoUF-UjVgV9ajxy5g_eNM2BQ/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/document/d/175TXtcgci5YiAVbimgevoUF-UjVgV9ajxy5g_eNM2BQ/edit?usp=sharing

http://www.ijch.net/vol4/136-CL1047

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1MgKnuGuSyMyTWABMsnkW7sd4rFPgNtWFl8deey6T7ts/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1MgKnuGuSyMyTWABMsnkW7sd4rFPgNtWFl8deey6T7ts/edit?usp=sharing

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-ushistory/chapter/the-emergence-of-american-literature/#:~:text=American%20Romanticism%20emphasized%20emotion%2C%20individualism,and%20the%20constraints%20of%20religion

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-ushistory/chapter/the-emergence-of-american-literature/#:~:text=American%20Romanticism%20emphasized%20emotion%2C%20individualism,and%20the%20constraints%20of%20religion

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-ushistory/chapter/the-emergence-of-american-literature/#:~:text=American%20Romanticism%20emphasized%20emotion%2C%20individualism,and%20the%20constraints%20of%20religion

3. Images ( parallels that create Irving’s message WITH Liu and Sun’s text analysis ):
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NatEpVpVJLaL3UtVnlKB6cQWh9QUDtPbuQHQ3Jf2jhg/e
dit?usp=sharing
4. Literary Criticism Lenses:

● https://prezi.com/mspnu-yjwcbb/literary-criticism-lenses/
● http://mrsommersenglish.weebly.com/literary-theory-overview.html

5. Rip Van Winkle video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdz5R9qxWFE
6. Summary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0lUH5BcF_U

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NatEpVpVJLaL3UtVnlKB6cQWh9QUDtPbuQHQ3Jf2jhg/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NatEpVpVJLaL3UtVnlKB6cQWh9QUDtPbuQHQ3Jf2jhg/edit?usp=sharing

https://prezi.com/mspnu-yjwcbb/literary-criticism-lenses/

http://mrsommersenglish.weebly.com/literary-theory-overview.html

Rip Van Winkle Images

Part I: Read and analyze Washington Irving’s text, “Rip Van Winkle” ( 1813)

“By Woden, God of Saxons,

From whence comes Wednesday, that is Wodensday,

Truth is a thing that ever I will keep

Unto thylke day in which I creep into

My sepulchre.”

CARTWRIGHT

Pre- Revolution Dutch Colony Post Revolution ( 20 years) America

Imagery of “crown”, “majesty” “purple” to describe mountains

War metaphors ( wife’s behavior, “volley, “launched”) Dame van Winkle passed away ( war is over)

Youthful Rip ( Beloved ANTI-Hero) Aged Rip

Vedder’s Junto vs. Franklin’s Junto Somewhat industrious town
Bustling, ‘sharp”, pushy ( somewhat violent)

Portrait of King George III George Washington

Single Crow Flock of idle crows ( no more carrion)

Dog named “Wolf” Mangy wolf, snarls at Rip

Nine-pins, sound of thunder ( Thor) Quiet

Fowling piece rusty firelock pistol

Rip Van Winkle remains a lazy, beloved storyteller
Never has to work in his life, ever again

Moral of the story?

Commentary on:
● Creates a message regarding the value of the arts ( over the Enlightenment)

○ Irving ( the author) makes fun of all work and no play– no balance of life espoused by Benjamin Franklin)
● What values are considered uniquely American ( satire of anti-hero, anti-Ben Franklin)
● Value of strong work ethic ( Marxist theory ( 1850’s): the elite benefit from the working class– therefore Irving makes a

social commentary regarding the land owners, like Jefferson, living off the labors of the working class)
● Perspective on economic shift after Revolution
● Commentary on active Involvement in one’s life ( not being passive)
● Value of certain “American” traditions and freedom
● Change is inevitable

Feudal Aristocracy‟s Escape: A Marxist Approach to “RipVan Winkle” by Liu Liu and Yu Sun

Part II:

Text ( choose ONE quote– and agree or disagree) Analysis via Marxist Critical Theory

Marxist Theory: “According to Marx, ‘The economic structure of
capitalist society has grown
out of the economic structure of feudal society.’” Translation: How
does the little colony change from monarchy rule to self rule ( who
gets the money from their labors?)

Video support;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVWtb9BrMDQ

III. THE CONFLICT BETWEEN FEUDAL ARISTOCRACY AND

THE CAPITALIST

The reason for the unusual family relations of Rip Van
Winkle is his family‟s economic situation. In Rip Van
Winkle‟s family, his wife but not him is the breadwinner, and
Rip Van Winkle does not take the responsibility of working
and earning money. According to Marx, the superstructure is
determined by the economic base. So, the family positions of
Rip Van Winkle and his wife are determined by their
economic positions. As the bread-winner in the family, Dame
Van Winkle has more right of speech than Rip Van Winkle.
The story is written during the American Industrial
Revolution. The industrial society is beginning to strike the
agricultural society, and will replace it later. According to
Marx, “The economic structure of capitalist society has grown
out of the economic structure of feudal society. The
dissolution of the latter set free the elements of the former.” [4]
From the perspective of Marxists, “literature grows out of and
reflects real material/historical conditions.” [5] Take a look at
the character of Rip Van Winkle and his wife with this
historical background, it is not difficult to find that Rip Van
Winkle and his wife Dame Van Winkle actually represents
two social classes. Rip Van Winkle represents the feudal
aristocracy, while his wife represents the capitalist class. And
the conflicts between Rip Van Winkle and his wife can be
seen as the conflicts between the two social classes.
The feudal aristocracy does not join producing activities,
but to exploit the capitalist class and peasantry. In the story,
Rip Van Winkle does the same thing. He depends on his wife
for a living instead of working by himself, and he hates
working, “The great error in Rip‟s composition was an
insuperable aversion to all kinds of profitable labor.” [1] The
feudal aristocracy exploits the other classes by its remaining
feudal influence, and Rip Van Winkle exploits his wife by the
remaining patriarchal power. Besides, like the feudal

Authors’ claim:

Dame Van Winkle= Capitalist class ( def:Capitalism is an economic
system based on the private ownership of the means of production and
their operation for profit.

Rip Van Winkle= Feudal class ( def: the dominant social system in
medieval Europe, in which the nobility held lands from the Crown while
the peasants (serfs) were obliged to live on their lord’s land and give him
labor)

Marxism Critical Lens: economic philosophy that explores the use of
labor as a form of capitol, the dominance of one group over another
through force or Ideology ( propaganda), as well as how one group
benefits from another’s labor ( while that working group benefits less).

● Superstructure= propaganda ( advertising that supports and
reinforces society ideas)

● Base= resources, including laborers

Source:
https://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/engl_258/lecture%20notes/marxism.h
tm

Author’s claim: RIP VAN Winkle IS Propaganda

Feudal structure: the dominant social system in medieval Europe, in
which the nobility held lands from the Crown while the peasants (serfs)
were obliged to live on their lord’s land and give him labor

According to the Marxist lens: Literature is a form of propaganda that
reinforces social positions ( each character represents social class)

https://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/engl_258/lecture%20notes/marxism.htm

https://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/engl_258/lecture%20notes/marxism.htm

aristocracy, he hates working and leads a life of pleasure, “If
left to himself, he would have whistled life away in perfect
contentment;” [1], “Here they used to sit in the shade through
a long lazy summer‟s day, talking listlessly over village gossip,
or telling endless sleepy stories about nothing.” [1] The
lifestyle of Rip Van Winkle is the idyllic life, which is very
typical in the traditional feudal society. With the rising of
modern industry, the power of the feudal aristocracy are
declining. Similarly, Rip Van Winkle‟s economic condition is
worsening and his life quality is falling, “His fences were
continually falling to pieces; his cow would either go astray,
or get among the cabbages; weeds were sure to grow quicker
in his fields than anywhere else; the rain always made a point
of setting in just as he had some out-door work to do.” [1] His
condition in family assembles the feudal aristocracy‟s social
condition. Rip Van Winkle is mild-tempered, polite, and glad
to help the women in the village, which is like the well-bred
and genteel feudal aristocracy.

As for Dame Van Winkle, she works hard to earn food and
money, just like what the capitalist class do during the
accumulation of capital. And she has to provide for her lazy
and incompetent husband, which assembles the capitalist
class that has been exploited by the feudal aristocracy. And
her lifestyle is much more practical than Rip Van Winkle. She
manages the whole family without the help of Winkle, so it‟s
not difficult to see that Dame Van Winkle is quite competent
and has little time to have entertainment. As Winkle‟s family
position keeps falling, “Times grew worse and worse with Rip
Van Winkle as years of matrimony rolled on; a tart temper
never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the only edged
tool that grows keener with constant use.” [1], Dame Van
Winkle‟s family position is rising, which assembles the
capitalist class‟s rising social position. Dame Van Winkle is a
cantankerous woman. The author uses words like “termagant”
and “virago” to describe her. Similarly, the capitalist class are
used to be criticized as a vulgar class.

When Rip and Dame Van Winkle fight= economic struggles for
dominance

According to authors:
● Feudal class= does not work ( exploit capitalist class/serfs)
● Capitalist class= workers who benefit from labors

Note: I’m not sure that I agree with the authors’ definitions of capitalist
class for Rip

Rip= Feudal class
Dame = exploited Capitalist worker

Feudal class is inefficient for economic growth

Capitalist class is more practical ( dominated by Feudal class)

Feudal economic system causes economic failure (inefficiencies)

My thoughts ( NOT Son and Liu’s): Revolution represents the struggles
with King George III and feudal system– Rip leaves, which may
represent King George’s mental abdication, and Dame van Winkle ( the
worker) takes over

The conflicts between Rip Van Winkle and Dame Van
Winkle symbolize the combat for economic and political
hegemony between the feudal aristocracy and the capitalist
class. In this combat, the capitalist class are beginning to have
the upper hand. But the capitalist class still has to compromise
with the feudal aristocracy. For example, they still have to put
up with the feudal aristocracy‟s exploitation. In the story, Rip
Van Winkle cannot bear his wife‟s curse and runs into the
mountain to find himself some comfort. Then he drinks the
beverage of an old man and falls asleep. When he wakes up,
twenty years have passed, and everything has changed.
Actually, Winkle uses a long sleep to escape his wife. When
he wakes up, his wife is already dead, “Rip had but one
question more to ask; but he put it with a faltering voice:
„Where‟s your mother?‟ „Oh, she too had died but a short time
since; she broke a blood-vessel in a fit of passion at a
New-England peddler.‟” [1] Winkle‟s long sleep symbolizes feudal
aristocracy‟s escape
in the combat against the capitalist class. At the end of the
story, Winkle‟s wife is dead, but everything in the village has
changed. “The very village was altered; it was larger and more
populous. There were rows of houses which he had never seen
before.” [1] That is the outcome of the industrialization. The
village scales up and develops. Rip‟s familiar haunts has
disappeared, and his old acquaintances all passed away or left.
It symbolizes the disassembly of the traditional agricultural
society. The industrialization has changed the village and the
way people live. The villagers care about the election now.
Winkle‟s son, who is a copy of him, has to abandon his old
lifestyle for the time has changed, “As to Rip‟s son and heir,
who was the ditto of himself, seen leaning against the tree, he
was employed to work on the farm; but evinced an hereditary
disposition to attend to anything else but his business.” [1] At
last, the capitalist class wins by changing the society with
some prices and compromises. The ending of the story can be
seen as a compromise of feudal aristocracy and the capitalist
class.

hegemony= social, political, military, , or economic dominance

Question: Do the authors assert that the feudal ( aristocracy) class
remains in power, exploiting the workers, even as the Capitalist ( worker
)class rise to dominance. Does Rip’s character represent the upper
class, that relies on the labor of the lower class– avoiding conflict?

Industrialization: the development of industries in a country or region on
a wide scale ( development of economic power)

Feudal society has gone. Rip ( representation of feudal, non working,
class) still exists. Rip’s son may symbolize the continuance of upper
class dominance

The vote may represent the growing voice/power of the workers (
Capitalist class)

Authors’ claim: The end, where Rip Van Winkle remains a sedentary
storyteller who never worked or contributed to his family’s welfare,
is a compromise between the two economic classes.

In essence:

Judith Gardiener ( Capitalist worker class) supports Rip Van Winkle
( remaining Feudal class)

Translation: the workers have the freedom to gain from their labors,
as long as they support the small upper class ( 1%)

Note: Marxist Critical Theory usually discusses the conflict between the
Bourgeoisie ( upper class/Rip) and the Proletariat ( workers/Dame)

Part III: Write a critical paragraph response to Son and Liu’s Marxist analysis of Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle”

Part II: Write a paragraph:

Directions: Focus on the Sun and Liu Marxist analysis ( in essence the Rip Van Winkle story is propaganda that reinforces the idea that the
working class supports a small elite class). Find a quote from Son and Liu’s text, agree or disagree with it. Then explain why, with a quote
from “Rip Van Winkle”.

1. Topic Sentence ( answers the question)
Ex. Within the critical analytical text entitled “TheFeudal Aristocracy‟s

Escape: A Marxist Approach to ‘Rip Van Winkle,'” the authors Son and
Liu claim….

2. Evidence from criticism text ( one quote). Remember to cite!
ex. Within Liu and Son’s text, the author states….

3. How (what specific element of the information you selected) is this
evidence important to the question?

4. YOUR CLAIM: Agree or Disagree with Liu and Son’s assessment of “Rip
Van Winkle”

5. Support YOUR claim with ONE quote from “Rip Van Winkle”

6. Why is it important to answering the prompt/question?
7. Concluding thoughts

ex. Therefore, Liu and Son’s critical approach to “Rip Van Winkle” is….

Suggested quote from supplemental text: “The feudal aristocracy does not join producing activities, but to exploit the
capitalist class and peasantry. In the story, Rip Van Winkle does the same thing. He depends on his wife for a living instead
of working by himself, and he hates working, “The great error in Rip‟s composition was an insuperable aversion to all
kinds of profitable labor.” [1]

( Translation: The authors Sun and Liu assert that the Rip Van Winkle story is propaganda reinforcing the idea that the rich elite don’t work,
but they benefit from the working class– in essence that Irving is creating propaganda that the working class supports the rich elite
)Do you agree or disagree?
Outline– if needed 🙂

1. Topic Sentence: Within the critical analytical text entitled “TheFeudal Aristocracy‟s Escape: A Marxist Approach to ‘Rip Van
Winkle,'” the authors Sun and Liu make a (reasonable/unreasonable– choose ONE) claim that Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle”
is____________________________________.

2. WHAT Evidence from Sun and Liu’s text: Within Liu and Son’s text, the author states,”__________________________.”
3. HOW Analyze the authors’ meaning: The authors’ use of the words_________________________ indicate ( define for

audience)_____________.
4. Agree/Disagree ( claim): I agree with Sun and Liu’s assessment of Rip’s characterization, because_______________________.
5. WHAT Support your claim with proof from “ Rip Van Winkle”: Indeed, Washington Irving characterizes Rip as “_______________”
6. HOW Analyze the authors’ meaning: Irving’s use of the words ____________________ reinforces the message of ______________.
7. WHY is this a support for your claim: Therefore, Liu and Son’s critical approach to “Rip Van Winkle” is____________________.

Visual Realia:

Concrete versus Abstract Reading of a Story

Concrete Reading= Story is JUST a story Abstract Reading= Story and Characters SYMBOLIZE something ELSE

Concrete Abstract

a literal form of thinking that focuses on the physical world critical, analytical thinking

Concrete Reading of “Rip Van Winkle”= Lazy man goes into
mountain woods and sleeps for 20 years, misses American Revolution

Abstract Reading of “Rip Van Winkle”=The shift between the pre-
American Revolution and the post-Revolution creates a message

Symbols:
● Rip’s character symbolizes something
● Dame Van Winkle symbolizes something
● King George and George Washington symbolizes something
● American Revolution symbolizes something
● All of the changes Rip notices symbolize something

It all depends on the “lens”

For Sun and Liu’s critical analysis– using the “lens’ of Marxist
Critical Theory:

Marxist Theory: focus on power and resources.

Story= propaganda ( information used to reinforce a certain ideology)
to strengthen the idea of working class supporting the upper class.

Characters:

● Rip= Bourgeoisie ( Feudal, agriculture based economy, upper
class)

○ Benefits from workers efforts

○

● Dame Van Winkle= Proletariat ( Capitalist/industrialist
economy, Working class).

○ The fact that she yells at Rip= conflict between the
two economies

○

● King George III and George Washington= Aristocracy ( elite
class with most power)

● Young Rip ( ditto of his father)= unchanging character of elite
class)

● Judith ( Van Winkle) Gardinier=Proletariat
(Capitalist/industrialist economy, Working class).

○ Cheerfully supports BOTH her father and brother
Other symbols:

● Shift in guns= gain power ( although weathered and
weakened)

● Revolutionary War= shift from Feudal economy to Capitalist
economy

● Shift in Crows= growth of misfortune
● Shift in “Wolf”= the new Capitalist class resentment for upper

class reliance on working class
● Flagons of alcohol= anti-alcohol, temperance movement

Rip Van Winkle

Text Comment

1. Prior to reading:
Browse: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_mythology for general information on the Norse
pantheon Take a closer look at this site: http://www.crystalinks.com/norsegods.html for
information relevant to the story

Particularly this god: Woden
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wodan
As you research—note Wodin and Thor’s characteristics, and representative symbols. From
this information, one may gather quite an understanding of the Northern European culture.
Also look for Vallhalla—what is it? How may one enter it’s hall?
Be cognizant of creation myths, destruction myths, etc.

. Rip Van Winkle
A Posthumous Writing of Diedrich Knickerbocker

By Washington Irving

From whence comes Wednesday, that is Wodensday,
Truth is a thing that ever I will keep
Unto thylke day in which I creep into
My sepulchre—

CARTWRIGHT.
Whoever has made a voyage up the Hudson must remember the Catskill Mountains. They are a
dismembered branch of the great Appalachian family, and are seen away to the west of the river,
swelling up to a noble height, and lording it over the surrounding country. Every change of season,
every change of weather, indeed, every hour of the day, produces some change in the magical hues
and shapes of these mountains, and they are regarded by all the good wives, far and near, as perfect
barometers. When the weather is fair and settled, they are clothed in blue and purple, and print their
bold outlines on the clear evening sky; but sometimes, when the rest of the landscape is cloudless, they
will gather a hood of gray vapors about their summits, which, in the last rays of the setting sun, will
glow and light up like a crown of glory. 4
At the foot of these fairy mountains the voyager may have descried the light smoke curling up from a

village whose shingle roofs gleam among the trees, just where the blue tints of the upland melt away
into the fresh green of the nearer landscape. It is a little village of great antiquity, having been founded
by some of the Dutch colonists, in the early times of the province, just about the beginning of the
government of the good Peter Stuyvesant (may he rest in peace!), and there were some of the houses
of the original settlers standing within a few years, with lattice windows, gable fronts surmounted with
weathercocks, and built of small yellow bricks brought from Holland. 5
In that same village, and in one of these very houses (which, to tell the precise truth, was sadly

time-worn and weather-beaten), there lived many years since, while the country was yet a province of
Great Britain, a simple, good-natured fellow, of the name of Rip Van Winkle. He was a descendant of
the Van Winkles who figured so gallantly in the chivalrous days of Peter Stuyvesant, and
accompanied him to the siege of Fort Christina. He inherited, however, but little of the martial
character of his ancestors. I have observed that he was a simple, good-natured man; he was, moreover,
a kind neighbor and an obedient, henpecked husband. Indeed, to the latter circumstance might be
owing that meekness of spirit which gained him such universal popularity; for those men are most apt
to be obsequious and conciliating abroad who are under the discipline of shrews at home. Their
tempers, doubtless, are rendered pliant and malleable in the fiery furnace of domestic tribulation, and a
curtain lecture is worth all the sermons in the world for teaching the virtues of patience and
long-suffering. A termagant wife may, therefore, in some respects, be considered a tolerable blessing;
and if so, Rip Van Winkle was thrice blessed. 6

Part I

Notice mountains
described like kings

Stuyvesant= warrior

Both Rip and his house
are shabby ( comes from
warriors, but he doesn’t
fight). His wife, Dame Van
Winkle is called a “shrew’
( she yells at him– A LOT)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_mythology

http://www.crystalinks.com/norsegods.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wodan

Certain it is that he was a great favorite among all the good wives of the village, who, as usual with
the amiable sex, took his part in all family squabbles, and never failed, whenever they talked those
matters over in their evening gossipings, to lay all the blame on Dame Van Winkle. The children of
the village, too, would shout with joy whenever he approached. He assisted at their sports, made
their playthings, taught them to fly kites and shoot marbles, and told them long stories of ghosts,
witches, and Indians. Whenever he went dodging about the village, he was surrounded by a troop
of them, hanging on his skirts, clambering on his back, and playing a thousand tricks on him
with impunity; and not a dog would bark at him throughout the neighborhood. 7
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. He would carry a fowling piece on his shoulder, for hours together,
trudging through woods and swamps, and up hill and down dale, to shoot a few squirrels or wild
pigeons. He would never even refuse to assist a neighbor in the roughest toil, and was a foremost man
at all country frolics for husking Indian corn, or building stone fences. The women of the village, too,
used to employ him to run their errands, and to do such little odd jobs as their less obliging husbands
would not do for them; in a word, Rip was ready to attend to anybody’s business but his own; but
as to doing family duty, and keeping his farm in order, it was impossible. 8
In fact, he declared it was of no use to work on his farm; it was the most pestilent little piece of

ground in the whole country; everything about it went wrong, and would go wrong, in spite of him. His
fences were continually falling to pieces; his cow would either go astray or get among the cabbages;
weeds were sure to grow quicker in his fields than anywhere else; the rain always made a point of
setting in just as he had some outdoor work to do; so that though his patrimonial estate had
dwindled away under his management, acre by acre, until there was little more left than a mere
patch of Indian corn and potatoes, yet it was the worst-conditioned farm in the neighborhood.
9
His children, too, were as ragged and wild as if they belonged to nobody. His son Rip, an urchin

begotten in his own likeness, promised to inherit the habits, with the old clothes of his father. He was
generally seen trooping like a colt at his mother’s heels, equipped in a pair of his father’s cast-off
galligaskins, which he had much ado to hold up with one hand, as a fine lady does her train in bad
weather. 10
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. If left to himself, he would
have whistled life away, in perfect contentment; but 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. This,
however, always provoked a fresh volley from his wife, so that he was fain to draw off his forces, and
take to the outside of the house—the only side which, in truth, belongs to a henpecked husband.
11
Rip’s sole domestic adherent was his dog Wolf, who was as much henpecked as his master; for Dame

Van Winkle regarded them as companions in idleness, and even looked upon Wolf with an evil eye, as
the cause of his master’s so often going astray. True it is, in all points of spirit befitting an honorable
dog, he was as courageous an animal as ever scoured the woods—but what courage can withstand the
ever-during and all-besetting terrors of a woman’s tongue? The moment Wolf entered the house his
crest fell, his tail drooped to the ground, or curled between his legs; he sneaked about with a gallows
air, casting many a sidelong glance at Dame Van Winkle, and at the least flourish of a broomstick or
ladle would fly to the door with yelping precipitation. 12
Times grew worse and worse with Rip Van Winkle as years of matrimony rolled on; a tart temper

never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows keener by constant use.
For a long while he used to console himself, when driven from home, by frequenting a kind of
perpetual club of the sages, philosophers, and other idle personages of the village, which held its
sessions on a bench before a small inn, designated by a rubicund portrait of his majesty George the
Third. Here they used to sit in the shade, of a long lazy summer’s day, talking listlessly over village
gossip, or telling endless sleepy stories about nothing. But it would have been worth any statesman’s
money to have heard the profound discussions which sometimes took place, when by chance an old
newspaper fell into their hands, from some passing traveler. How solemnly they would listen to the
contents, as drawled out by Derrick Van Bummel, the schoolmaster, a dapper, learned little man, who
was not to be daunted by the most gigantic word in the dictionary; and how sagely they would

His neighbors loved him–
the kids followed him
everywhere because he
was always ready to play

Rip won’t work his land (
works for everyone else,
but not his own property)

He allowed his farm to go
sallow, and sold off all the
acreage ( except for a
small piece)

He doesn’t work for his
family

Rip is “happy go lucky” (
a cheery anti-protagonist)

Notice the war words

Rip’s dog is named
“Wolf”– but doesn’t act
like one

Rip’s friends are mocked

They hold a “junto” a
meeting in front of the inn
( and a picture of King
George). Mocks Benjamin
Franklin

deliberate upon public events some months after they had taken place. 13
The opinions of this junto were completely controlled by Nicholas Vedder, a patriarch of the village,

and landlord of the inn, at the door of which he took his seat from morning till night, just moving
sufficiently to avoid the sun, and keep in the shade of a large tree; so that the neighbors could tell
the hour by his movements as accurately as by a sun-dial. It is true, he was rarely heard to speak,
but smoked his pipe incessantly. His adherents, however (for every great man has his adherents),
perfectly understood him, and knew how to gather his opinions. When anything that was read or
related displeased him, he was observed to smoke his pipe vehemently, and send forth short, frequent,
and angry puffs; but when pleased, he would inhale the smoke slowly and tranquilly, and emit it in
light and placid clouds, and sometimes taking the pipe from his mouth, and letting the fragrant vapor
curl about his nose, would gravely nod his head in token of perfect approbation. 14
From even this stronghold the unlucky Rip was at length routed by his termagant wife, who would

suddenly break in upon the tranquillity of the assemblage, and call the members all to nought; nor was
that august personage, Nicholas Vedder himself, sacred from the daring tongue of this terrible virago,
who charged him outright with encouraging her husband in habits of idleness. 15
Poor Rip was at last reduced almost to despair; and his only alternative, to escape from the

labor of the farm and clamor of his wife, was to take gun in hand and stroll away into the woods.
Here he would sometimes seat himself at the foot of a tree, and share the contents of his wallet with
Wolf, with whom he sympathized as a fellow-sufferer in persecution. “Poor Wolf,” he would say, “thy
mistress leads thee a dog’s life of it; but never mind, my lad, while I live thou shalt never want a friend
to stand by thee!” Wolf would wag his tail, look wistfully in his master’s face, and if dogs can feel pity,
I verily believe he reciprocated the sentiment with all his heart. 16
In a long ramble of the kind on a fine autumnal day, Rip had unconsciously scrambled to one of the

highest parts of the Catskill Mountains. He was after his favorite sport of squirrel shooting, and the still
solitudes had echoed and reëchoed with the reports of his gun. Panting and fatigued, he threw himself,
late in the afternoon, on a green knoll, covered with mountain herbage, that crowned the brow of a
precipice. From an opening between the trees he could overlook all the lower country for many a mile
of rich woodland. He saw at a distance the lordly Hudson, far, far below him, moving on its silent
but majestic course, the reflection of a purple cloud, or the sail of a lagging bark, here and there
sleeping on its glassy bosom, and at last losing itself in the blue highlands. 17
On the other side he looked down into a deep mountain glen, wild, lonely, and shagged, the bottom

filled with fragments from the impending cliffs, and scarcely lighted by the reflected rays of the setting
sun. For some time Rip lay musing on this scene; evening was gradually advancing; the mountains
began to throw their long blue shadows over the valleys; he saw that it would be dark long before he
could reach the village, and he heaved a heavy sigh when he thought of encountering the terrors of
Dame Van Winkle. 18
As he was about to descend, he heard a voice from a distance, hallooing, “Rip Van Winkle! Rip

Van Winkle!” He looked around, but could see nothing but a crow winging its solitary flight
across the mountain. He thought his fancy must have deceived him, and turned again to descend,
when he heard the same cry ring through the still evening air: “Rip Van Winkle! Rip Van
Winkle!”—at the same time Wolf bristled up his back, and giving a low growl, skulked to his
master’s side, looking fearfully down into the glen. Rip now felt a vague apprehension stealing over
him; he looked anxiously in the same direction, and perceived a strange figure slowly toiling up the
rocks, and bending under the weight of something he carried on his back. He was surprised to see any
human being in this lonely and unfrequented place, but supposing it to be some one of the
neighborhood in need of assistance, he hastened down to yield it. 19
On nearer approach, he was still more surprised at the singularity of the stranger’s appearance. He

was a short, square-built old fellow, with thick bushy hair, and a grizzled beard. His dress was of
the antique Dutch fashion—a cloth jerkin strapped around the waist—several pair of breeches,
the outer one of ample volume, decorated with rows of buttons down the sides, and bunches at the
knees. He bore on his shoulders a stout keg, that seemed full of liquor, and made signs for Rip to
approach and assist him with the load. Though rather shy and distrustful of this new acquaintance,
Rip complied with his usual alacrity, and mutually relieving one another, they clambered up a narrow
gully, apparently the dry bed of a mountain torrent. As they ascended, Rip every now and then heard
long rolling peals, like distant thunder, that seemed to issue out of a deep ravine, or rather cleft
between lofty rocks, toward which their rugged path conducted. He paused for an instant, but
supposing it to be the muttering of one of those transient thunder showers which often take place in
mountain heights, he proceeded. Passing through the ravine, they came to a hollow, like a small
amphitheater, surrounded by perpendicular precipices, over the brinks of which impending trees shot
their branches, so that you only caught glimpses of the azure sky and the bright evening cloud. During
the whole time, Rip and his companion had labored on in silence; for though the former marveled

Unusual for early
literature: the woods were
thought to be a place
where evil dwelt

Rip brings a fowling gun (
not for war)

More symbols of “king”

Single crow

Hears his name called

Looks like dwarves of
Lord of the Rings

Jab at the temperance
movement

greatly what could be the object of carrying a keg of liquor up this wild mountain, yet there was
something strange and incomprehensible about the unknown that inspired awe and checked familiarity.
20
On entering the amphitheater, new objects of wonder presented themselves. On a level spot in the

center was a company of odd-looking personages playing at ninepins. They were dressed in a quaint,
outlandish fashion: some wore short doublets, others jerkins, with long knives in their belts, and most
had enormous breeches, of similar style with that of the guide’s. Their visages, too, were peculiar: one
had a large head, broad face, and small, piggish eyes; the face of another seemed to consist entirely of
nose, and was surmounted by a white sugar-loaf hat set off with a little red cock’s tail. They all had
beards, of various shapes and colors. There was one who seemed to be the commander. He was a
stout old gentleman, with a weather-beaten countenance; he wore a laced doublet, broad belt and
hanger, high-crowned hat and feather, red stockings, and high-heeled shoes, with roses in them.
The whole group reminded Rip of the figures in an old Flemish painting, in the parlor of
Dominie Van Schaick, the village parson, and which had been brought over from Holland at the
time of the settlement. 21
What seemed particularly odd to Rip, was that though these folks were evidently amusing themselves,

yet they maintained the gravest faces, the most mysterious silence, and were, withal, the most
melancholy party of pleasure he had ever witnessed. Nothing interrupted the stillness of the scene
but the noise of the balls, which, whenever they were rolled, echoed along the mountains like
rumbling peals of thunder. 22
As Rip and his companion approached them, they suddenly desisted from their play, and stared at him

with such fixed statue-like gaze, and such strange, uncouth, lack-luster countenances, that his heart
turned within him, and his knees smote together. His companion now emptied the contents of the keg
into large flagons, and made signs to him to wait upon the company. He obeyed with fear and
trembling; they quaffed the liquor in profound silence, and then returned to their game. 23
By degrees, Rip’s awe and apprehension subsided. He even ventured, when no eye was fixed upon

him, to taste the beverage, which he found had much of the flavor of excellent Hollands. He was
naturally a thirsty soul, and was soon tempted to repeat the draught. One taste provoked another, and
he reiterated his visits to the flagon so often, that at length his senses were overpowered, his eyes swam
in his head, his head gradually declined, and he fell into a deep sleep.

24
On awaking, he found himself on the green knoll from whence he had first seen the old man of the

glen. He rubbed his eyes—it was a bright sunny morning. The birds were hopping and twittering
among the bushes, and the eagle was wheeling aloft and breasting the pure mountain breeze. “Surely,”
thought Rip, “I have not slept here all night.” He recalled the occurrences before he fell asleep. The
strange man with a keg of liquor—the mountain ravine—the wild retreat among the rocks—the
woe-begone party at ninepins—the flagon—“Oh! that flagon! that wicked flagon!” thought
Rip—“what excuse shall I make to Dame Van Winkle?” 25
He looked round for his gun, but in place of the clean, well-oiled fowling piece, he found an old

firelock lying by him, the barrel incrusted with rust, the lock falling off, and the stock worm-eaten.
He now suspected that the grave roysters of the mountain had put a trick upon him, and having dosed
him with liquor, had robbed him of his gun. Wolf, too, had disappeared, but he might have strayed
away after a squirrel or partridge. He whistled after him, shouted his name, but all in vain; the echoes
repeated his whistle and shout, but no dog was to be seen. 26
He determined to revisit the scene of the last evening’s gambol, and if he met with any of the party, to

demand his dog and gun. As he rose to walk, he found himself stiff in the joints, and wanting in his
usual activity. “These mountain beds do not agree with me,” thought Rip, “and if this frolic should lay
me up with a fit of the rheumatism, I shall have a blessed time with Dame Van Winkle.” With some
difficulty he got down into the glen; he found the gully up which he and his companion had ascended
the preceding evening; but to his astonishment a mountain stream was now foaming down it, leaping
from rock to rock, and filling the glen with babbling murmurs. He, however, made shift to scramble up
its sides, working his toilsome way through thickets of birch, sassafras, and witch-hazel, and
sometimes tripped up or entangled by the wild grape vines that twisted their coils and tendrils from tree
to tree, and spread a kind of network in his path. 27
At length he reached to where the ravine had opened through the cliffs to the amphitheater; but no

traces of such opening remained. The rocks presented a high, impenetrable wall, over which the torrent
came tumbling in a sheet of feathery foam, and fell into a broad, deep basin, black from the shadows of
the surrounding forest. Here, then, poor Rip was brought to a stand. He again called and whistled
after his dog; he was only answered by the cawing of a flock of idle crows, sporting high in air
about a dry tree that overhung a sunny precipice; and who, secure in their elevation, seemed to look

Other magical folk–
dressed in very old
fashioned clothes

Game=form of bowling,
making peals of thunder (
Thor)

Rip drinks the mystical
beverage, falls asleep

Part II

Lost his fowling piece–
now has a firelock ( gun
for war). Rusty

Dog is gone

Rip feels old ( feels he
may have a fight with his
wife)

Lots of crows ( hmmmm)

down and scoff at the poor man’s perplexities. What was to be done? the morning was passing away,
and Rip felt famished for want of his breakfast. He grieved to give up his dog and gun; he dreaded
to meet his wife; but it would not do to starve among the mountains. He shook his head,
shouldered the rusty firelock, and, with a heart full of trouble and anxiety, turned his steps homeward.
28
As he approached the village, he met a number of people, but none whom he knew, which

somewhat surprised him, for he had thought himself acquainted with every one in the country round.
Their dress, too, was of a different fashion from that to which he was accustomed. They all stared at
him with 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 same, when, to his
astonishment, he found his beard had grown a foot long! 29
He had now entered the skirts of the village. A troop of strange children ran at his heels, hooting

after him, and pointing at his gray beard. The dogs, too, none of which he recognized for his old
acquaintances, barked at him as he passed. The very village was altered: it was larger and more
populous. There were rows of houses which he had never seen before, and those which had been his
familiar haunts had disappeared. Strange names were over the doors—strange faces at the
windows—everything was strange. His mind now began to misgive him; he doubted whether both he
and the world around him were not bewitched. Surely this was his native village, which he had left but
the day before. There stood the Catskill Mountains—there ran the silver Hudson at a distance—there
was every hill and dale precisely as it had always been—Rip was sorely perplexed—“That flagon last
night,” thought he, “has addled my poor head sadly!” 30
It was with some difficulty he found the way to his own house, which he approached with silent awe,

expecting every moment to hear the shrill voice of Dame Van Winkle. He found the house gone to
decay—the roof fallen in, the windows shattered, and the doors off the hinges. A half-starved
dog, that looked like Wolf, was skulking about it. Rip called him by name, but the cur snarled,
showed his teeth, and passed on. This was an unkind cut indeed—“My very dog,” sighed poor Rip,
“has forgotten me!” 31
He entered the house, which, to tell the truth, Dame Van Winkle had always kept in neat order. It was

empty, forlorn, and apparently abandoned. This desolateness overcame all his connubial fears—he
called loudly for his wife and children—the lonely chambers rung for a moment with his voice, and
then all again was silence. 32
He now hurried forth, and hastened to his old resort, the little village inn—but it too was gone. A

large rickety wooden building stood in its place, with great gaping windows, some of them broken, and
mended with old hats and petticoats, and over the door was painted, “The Union Hotel, by Jonathan
Doolittle.” Instead of the great tree which used to shelter the 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, and from it was
fluttering a flag, on which was a singular assemblage of stars and stripes—all this was strange and
incomprehensible. He recognized on the sign, however, the ruby face of King George, under which
he had smoked so many a peaceful pipe, but even this was singularly metamorphosed. The red
coat was changed for one of blue and buff, a sword was stuck in the hand instead of a scepter, the
head was decorated with a cocked hat, and underneath was painted in large characters,
GENERAL WASHINGTON. 33
There was, as usual, a crowd of folk about the door, but none whom Rip recollected. The very

character of the people seemed changed. There was a busy, bustling, disputatious tone about it, instead
of the accustomed phlegm and drowsy tranquillity. He looked in vain for the sage Nicholas Vedder,
with his broad face, double chin, and fair long pipe, uttering clouds of tobacco smoke instead of idle
speeches; or Van Bummel, the schoolmaster, doling forth the contents of an ancient newspaper. In
place of these, a lean, bilious-looking fellow, with his pockets full of handbills, was haranguing
vehemently about rights of citizens—election—members of Congress—liberty—Bunker’s
Hill—heroes of ’76—and other words, that were a perfect Babylonish jargon to the bewildered Van
Winkle. 34
The appearance of Rip, with his long grizzled beard, his rusty fowling piece, his uncouth dress, and

the army of women and children that had gathered at his heels, soon attracted the attention of the
tavern politicians. They crowded around him, eying him from head to foot, with great curiosity.
The orator bustled up to him, and drawing him partly aside, inquired “on which side he voted?”
Rip stared in vacant stupidity. Another short but busy little fellow pulled him by the arm, and
raising on tiptoe, inquired in his ear, “whether he was Federal or Democrat.” Rip was equally at a
loss to comprehend the question; when a knowing, self-important old gentleman, in a sharp cocked hat,
made his way through the crowd, putting them to the right and left with his elbows as he passed, and
planting himself before Van Winkle, with one arm akimbo, the other resting on his cane, his keen eyes
and sharp hat penetrating, as it were, into his very soul, demanded, in an austere tone, “what brought

Village has changed

He finds that he has too

He doesn’t recognize his
town

A dog that looks like Wolf
growls at him

The inn is owned by
someone new– and the
painting of King George
has been changed to
resemble George
Washington

Villagers ask questions (
are suspicious of Rip)

Rip doesn’t understand

him to the election with a gun on his shoulder, and a mob at his heels, and whether he meant to
breed a riot in the village?” “Alas! gentlemen,” cried Rip, somewhat dismayed, “I am a poor quiet
man, a native of the place, and a loyal subject of the king, God bless him!” 35
Here a general shout burst from the bystanders—“A Tory! a Tory! a spy! a refugee! hustle him! away

with him!” It was with great difficulty that the self-important man in the cocked hat restored order; and
having assumed a tenfold austerity of brow, demanded again of the unknown culprit, what he came
there for, and whom he was seeking. The poor man humbly assured him that he meant no harm; but
merely came there in search of some of his neighbors, who used to keep about the tavern. 36
“Well—who are they?—name them.” 37
Rip bethought himself a moment, and then inquired, “Where’s Nicholas Vedder?” 38
There was silence for a little while, when an old man replied in a thin, piping voice, “Nicholas

Vedder? why, he is dead and gone these eighteen years! There was a wooden tombstone in the
churchyard that used to tell all about him, but that’s rotted and gone, too.” 39
“Where’s Brom Dutcher?” 40
“Oh, he went off to the army in the beginning of the war; some say he was killed at the battle of

Stony Point—others say he was drowned in a squall, at the foot of Antony’s Nose. I don’t
know—he never came back again.” 41
“Where’s Van Bummel, the schoolmaster?” 42
“He went off to the wars, too, was a great militia general, and is now in Congress.” 43
Rip’s heart died away, at hearing of these sad changes in his home and friends, and finding himself

thus alone in the world. Every answer puzzled him, too, by treating of such enormous lapses of time,
and of matters which he could not understand: war—Congress—Stony Point!—he had no courage to
ask after any more friends, but cried out in despair, “Does nobody here know Rip Van Winkle?”
44
“Oh, Rip Van Winkle!” exclaimed two or three, “Oh, to be sure! that’s Rip Van Winkle yonder,

leaning against the tree.” 45
Rip looked, and beheld a precise counterpart of himself, as he went up the mountain:

apparently as lazy, and certainly as ragged. The poor fellow was now completely confounded. He
doubted his own identity, and whether he was himself or another man. In the midst of his
bewilderment, the man in the cocked hat demanded who he was, and what was his name? 46
“God knows,” exclaimed he, at his wit’s end; “I’m not myself—I’m somebody else—that’s me

yonder—no—that’s somebody else, got into my shoes—I was myself last night, but I fell asleep on
the mountain, and they’ve changed my gun, and everything’s changed, and I’m changed, and I
can’t tell what’s my name, or who I am!” 47
The bystanders began now to look at each other, nod, wink significantly, and tap their fingers against

their foreheads. There was a whisper, also, about securing the gun, and keeping the old fellow from
doing mischief; at the very suggestion of which, the self-important man in the cocked hat retired with
some precipitation. At this critical moment a fresh, likely woman pressed through the throng to get a
peep at the gray-bearded man. She had a chubby child in her arms, which, frightened at his looks,
began to cry. “Hush, Rip,” cried she, “hush, you little fool, the old man won’t hurt you.” The name of
the child, the air of the mother, the tone of her voice,all awakened a train of recollections in his mind.
“What is your name, my good woman?” asked he. 48
“Judith Gardenier.” 49
“And your father’s name?” 50
“Ah, poor man, his name was Rip Van Winkle; it’s twenty years since he went away from home

with his gun, and never has been heard of since—his dog came home without him; but whether he
shot himself, or was carried away by the Indians, nobody can tell. I was then but a little girl.” 51
Rip had but one question more to ask; but he put it with a faltering voice:— 52
“Where’s your mother?” 53
“Oh, she too had died but a short time since; she broke a blood vessel in a fit of passion at a New

England peddler.” 54
There was a drop of comfort, at least, in this intelligence. The honest man could contain himself no

longer.—He caught his daughter and her child in his arms.—“I am your father!” cried he—“Young Rip
Van Winkle once—old Rip Van Winkle now!—Does nobody know poor Rip Van Winkle!”
55
All stood amazed, until an old woman, tottering out from among the crowd, put her hand to her brow,

and peering under it in his face for a moment, exclaimed, “Sure enough! it is Rip Van Winkle—it is
himself. Welcome home again, old neighbor.—Why, where have you been these twenty long years?”
56
Rip’s story was soon told, for the whole twenty years had been to him but as one night. The neighbors

stared when they heard it; some where seen to wink at each other, and put their tongues in their cheeks;

that King George is no
longer the leader of the
colonies

Rip’s friends fought– he
did not

Rip’s son

Rip’s daughter, Judith,
tells us that he’s been
gone 20 years ( and the
wife is dead)

and the self-important man in the cocked hat, who, when the alarm was over, had returned to the field,
screwed down the corners of his mouth, and shook his head—upon which there was a general shaking
of the head throughout the assemblage. 57
It was determined, however, to take the opinion of old Peter Vanderdonk, who was seen slowly

advancing up the road. He was a descendant of the historian of that name, who wrote one of the earliest
accounts of the province. Peter was the most ancient inhabitant of the village, and well versed in all the
wonderful events and traditions of the neighborhood. He recollected Rip at once, and corroborated his
story in the most satisfactory manner. He assured the company that it was a fact, handed down from his
ancestor the historian, that the Catskill Mountains had always been haunted by strange beings. That it
was affirmed that the great Hendrick Hudson, the first discoverer of the river and country, kept a kind
of vigil there every twenty years, with his crew of the Half-Moon, being permitted in this way to revisit
the scenes of his enterprise, and keep a guardian eye upon the river, and the great city called by his
name. That his father had once seen them in their old Dutch dresses playing at ninepins in a hollow of
the mountain; and that he himself had heard, one summer afternoon, the sound of their balls, like long
peals of thunder. 58
To make a long story short, the company broke up, and returned to the more important concerns of

the election. Rip’s daughter took him home to live with her; she had a snug, well-furnished house,
and a stout cheery farmer for a husband, whom Rip recollected for one of the urchins that used to
climb upon his back. As to Rip’s son and heir, who was the ditto of himself, seen leaning against the
tree, he was employed to work on the farm; but evinced an hereditary disposition to attend to anything
else but his business. 59
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. 60
Having nothing to do at home, and being arrived at that happy age when a man can do nothing 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 III., 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. 61
He used to tell his story to every stranger that arrived at Dr. 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 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 thunder-storm of a summer afternoon, about the Catskills, 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 draught out of
Rip Van Winkle’s flagon. 62
NOTE.—The foregoing tale, one would suspect, had been suggested to Mr. Knickerbocker by a little

German superstition about the Emperor Frederick and the Kypphauser Mountain; the subjoined note,
however, which he had appended to the tale, shows that it is an absolute fact, narrated with his usual
fidelity. 63
“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 a doubt.
“D. K.”

Rip is cared for by his
wealthy daughter– never
has to work

Rip skipped the war

Notice the pun: Do- Little?

64
POSTSCRIPT 1 .—The following are traveling notes from a memorandum book of Mr.

Knickerbocker:— 65
The Kaatsberg, or Catskill Mountains, have always been a region full of fable. The Indians considered

them the abode of spirits, who influenced the weather, spreading sunshine or clouds over the
landscape, and sending good or bad hunting seasons. They were ruled by an old squaw spirit, said to be
their mother. She dwelt on the highest peak of the Catskills, and had charge of the doors of day and
night to open and shut them at the proper hour. She hung up the new moon in the skies, and cut up the
old ones into stars. In times of drought, if properly propitiated, she would spin light summer clouds out
of cobwebs and morning dew, and send them off from the crest of the mountain, flake after flake, like
flakes of carded cotton, to float in the air; until, dissolved by the heat of the sun, they would fall in
gentle showers, causing the grass to spring, the fruits to ripen, and the corn to grow an inch an hour. If
displeased, however, she would brew up clouds black as ink, sitting in the midst of them like a
bottle-bellied spider in the midst of its web; and when these clouds broke, woe betide the valleys!
66
In old times, say the Indian traditions, there was a kind of Manitou or Spirit, who kept about the

wildest recesses of the Catskill Mountains, and took a mischievous pleasure in wreaking all kinds of
evils and vexations upon the red men. Sometimes he would assume the form of a bear, a panther, or a
deer, lead the bewildered hunter a weary chase through tangled forests and among ragged rocks; and
then spring off with a loud ho! ho! leaving him aghast on the brink of a beetling precipice or raging
torrent. 67
The favorite abode of this Manitou is still shown. It is a great rock or cliff on the loneliest part of the

mountains, and, from the flowering vines which clamber about it, and the wild flowers which abound
in its neighborhood, is known by the name of the Garden Rock. Near the foot of it is a small lake, the
haunt of the solitary bittern, with water snakes basking in the sun on the leaves of the pond lilies which
lie on the surface. This place was held in great awe by the Indians, insomuch that the boldest hunter
would not pursue his game within its precincts. Once upon a time, however, a hunter who had lost his
way, penetrated to the Garden Rock, where he beheld a number of gourds placed in the crotches of
trees. One of these he seized, and made off with it, but in the hurry of his retreat he let it fall among the
rocks, when a great stream gushed forth, which washed him away and swept him down precipices,
where he was dashed to pieces, and the stream made its way to the Hudson, and continues to flow to
the present day; being the identical stream known by the name of Kaaterskill. 68