The Theme of the American Revolution In Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle

regarded as a maternal link that is going to be dissolved, Rip and his wife are far from a happy marriage, either: “Times grew worse and worse with Rip Van Winkle as years of matrimony rolled on” (Irving, 983).

One of Rip’s distractions from his wife is meeting with his friends. Representing a backward looking attitude as well, they form a kind of informal club and meet on a bench in front of a small hotel, the Village Inn. Their lacking sense of progressivism is obvious by “a rubicund portrait of his majesty George the Third”. Irving ironically characterizes a typical meeting as follows:

“But it would have been worth any statesman’s money to have heard the profound discussions that 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 deliberate upon public events some months after they had taken place” (Irv ing, 983

- 984)

Not only do they still look upon their king as a very respectable person, they also try to escape present and future challenges by pondering about weeks-old events. So, in general, Rip’s life revolves around getting out of the way of today’s and tomorrow’s duties. He does not move forward.

Since his wife sometimes even interrupts the “junto” (Irving, 984), the only possibility to flee from that (to him) tyrannic and despotic attitude is to take a walk into the woods. Here, Rip tries to find some ease and comfort. As he strolls in the Kaatskill Mountains one day, his attention is attracted by a voice screaming his name. Some instants later he recognizes a strangely looking figure, “a short square built old fellow, with thick bushy hair, and a grizzled beard” who’s “dress was of the antique Dutch fashion” (Irving, 985).

Rip, however, is not surprised at seeing this stranger in the woods. His apprehension ceases immediately because the “old fellow” is dressed in a style that suites Rip. The stranger’s old Dutch clothes embody the memory of forgotten times and are a well-known sight to Rip. Besides, even if this creature might well be a ghost, our hero is not afraid - since both ghosts and Rip obviously have nothing to do in their lives, they

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have something elementary in common. He feels familiarity with the stranger and therefore follows him.

After a laborious walk they arrive at “a hollow, like a small amphitheatre”. Once again, Rip is confronted with a typical sign of the past, of a classical culture in this specific case. And once again, he feels not intimidated but instead thinks that although “there was something strange and incomprehensible about the unknown” but it “inspired awe, and checked familiarity”. When stepping into the amphitheatre, the wonders augment even more. There is a group of peculiar personages sitting and playing ninepins. Rip’s reaction when seein this strange event is in accordance to his former behavior:

“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” (Irving, 986)

So, a situation that would have been a cause of great astonishment to every other man, evokes Rip’s feelings for the home of his fathers.

Since he now feels perfectly comfortable in this odd company, Rip starts to take some sips of the mysterious liquor. At the height of his melancholic feelings, however, he falls asleep. Although the time while Rip is sleeping appears to him like only one night, it is - as we will proof later - a much longer period. In fact, Rip is sleeping away the complete American Revolution. Even while he is still in the woods, evidence that a longer period of time must have passed can be found - instead of his gun, he finds “an old firelock lying by him, the barrel encrusted with rust, the lock fallen off, and the stock worm-eaten”. His body also feels like it must have altered during his apparent sleep, for he finds himself “stiff in the joints, and wanting in his usual activity” (Irving, 987). To confirm himself that the strange meeting was not a fabrication of his fantasy, however, he goes back to that mysterious place. But instead of the amphitheatre and the peculiar looking strangers he only finds a wall of rocks without any sights of people nearby. Being somewhat perplexed, hungry and fearing his wife, Rip makes his way to the village again.

Here he is completely surprised at not meeting anyone familiar. As he looks out for well-known sights, Rip notices that his beard has grown a foot long - he obviously

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