First Things First…
I read this in college more than 20 years ago, but not since. I don’t remember it too well, but the gist of the story is famous, so Rip falling asleep for 20 years and waking up bewildered isn’t going to catch me by surprise.
2 Things I Like
2. Always About Politics
After a confused Rip returns to a town he doesn’t recognize, an abandoned house, and a dog that doesn’t know him anymore, he looks for his old friends outside the inn where they used to laze away their days. But this, too, is unfamiliar. And before Rip even speaks to anyone, he attracts the attention of the tavern politicians…
“They crowded around him, eyeing 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, rising on tiptoe, inquired in his ear, ‘whether he was Federal or Democrat?’”
Maybe I should dislike this, because in real life I hate when everything is about politics, and one of the first things people want to know about you is which side you’re on. But I couldn’t help but chuckle at how prescient and on the nose it is that the same thing happens to Rip in the days following the American Revolution.
1. The Man Himself, Rip Van Winkle
Much like Ichabod Crane in Washington Irving’s other most famous story, Rip Van Winkle is a memorable character. But he’s easier to root for than Ichabod.
One of the earliest descriptions of Rip shows how well-liked he is throughout the village…
“Certain it is that he was a great favourite among all the good wives of the village… 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… and not a dog would bark at him throughout the neighbourhood.”
One of the things that makes people like Rip so much is that he puts others before himself. And that can be admirable. But when it’s to the detriment of your family, maybe less so. This is what I find interesting about Rip. It says…
“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, he found it impossible.”
If he can’t live up to his own responsibilities, I have to ask—is he really worth admiring? Especially if he’s the type who lets others take advantage of his good nature?
Because of his failures at home, there’s one person in town who doesn’t have such positive feelings about him—his wife.
Rip is a “henpecked husband,” and his only response to his wife’s constant admonishments, which became a well-known habit, is, “He shrugged his shoulders, shook his head, cast up his eyes, but said nothing.” Seems passive aggressive and less than admirable to me.
I’m not sure whether the full picture of Rip Van Winkle skews more positive or negative. But for a story as short as this one, he’s a compelling, fully fleshed-out character.
1 Thing I’m Mixed On
1. The Curse of Hendrick Hudson
Rip’s 20-year nap is preceded by stumbling upon a bunch of weirdos in the forest and drinking something they give him.
The explanation provided after the current townsfolk finally understand that the confused, wild-looking man before them is the same Rip Van Winkle who disappeared without a trace 20 years earlier, is…
“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.”
So there’s some sort of magic or enchantment involved with Hudson and his men. (Who I guess are ghosts or spirits at this point?)
It’s a fine explanation, but it doesn’t really do anything for me. I think there could’ve been a more exciting reason. Or if it was going to be something magical like this, those responsible could’ve been fleshed out more and turned into real characters.
2 Things I Don’t Like
2. Relating to Diedrich Knickerbocker
The first couple of pages serve as an introduction to explain that this story was found among the papers of Diedrich Knickerbocker. There’s also a note at the end, and a postscript, pertaining to Knickerbocker.
None of them is necessary or interesting. Just tell the story.
1. Dumping on Dame Van Winkle
Rip’s wife isn’t a real character. She’s just a shrew. She’s not actually in the story, only referred to. But she makes Rip miserable by constantly nagging him about his idleness, she mistreats Wolf, their dog, and even the other wives in the village take Rip’s side over hers.
She’s just an archetype for Rip to play off of. But even if the narrator is reliable and honest, it’s not fair to judge her so harshly when we never meet her. I mean, Rip’s penchant for helping everyone but his own family kinda feels worthy of scorn.
It would’ve been nice to take a little time to make his wife a three-dimensional character, too, instead of this one-note shrew we never meet.
Tim Matassa
