Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving

First published: 1819–20

Type of work: Short fiction

Type of plot: Tall tale

Time of plot: Eighteenth century

Locale: New York State

Principal Characters

• Rip Van Winkle, a henpecked husband
• Dame Van Winkle, his wife

The Story

Along the reaches of the Hudson River, not far from the Catskill Mountains, there is a small, Dutch town. The mountains overshadow the town, and there are times when the good Dutch burghers can see a hood of clouds hanging over the crests of the hills. In this small town lives a man named Rip Van Winkle. He is beloved by all his neighbors, by children, and by animals, but his life at home is made miserable by his shrewish wife. Though he is willing to help anyone else at any odd job that might be necessary, he is incapable of keeping his own house and farm in repair. He is descended from an old and good Dutch family, but he has none of the fine Dutch traits of thrift and energy.

Rip spends a great deal of his time at the village inn, under the sign of King George III, until his wife chases him from there. When this happens, he takes his gun and his dog, Wolf, and heads for the hills. Wolf is as happy as Rip is to get away from home. When Dame Van Winkle berates the two of them, Rip raises his eyes silently to heaven, but Wolf tucks his tail between his legs and slinks out of the house.

One fine day in autumn, Rip and Wolf walk high into the Catskills while hunting squirrels. As evening comes on, the two sit down to rest before heading for home. After they rise again and start down the mountainside, Rip hears his name called. A short, square little man with a grizzled beard is calling to Rip, asking him to help carry a keg of liquor. The little man is dressed in antique Dutch clothes. Although he accepts Rip’s help in carrying the keg, he does not engage in conversation. As they ascend the mountain, Rip hears noises that sound like claps of thunder. When they reach a sort of natural amphitheater near the top, Rip sees a band of little men, dressed and bearded like his companion, playing ninepins. One stout old gentleman, who seems to be the leader, wears a laced doublet and a high-crowned hat with a feather.

The little men are no more companionable than the first one had been, and Rip feels somewhat depressed. Because they seem to enjoy the liquor from the keg, Rip tastes it a few times while they are absorbed in their game. Then he falls into a deep sleep.

On waking, Rip looks in vain for the stout old gentleman and his companions. When he reaches for his gun, he finds that it is rusted. His dog does not answer his call. He tries to find the amphitheater where the little men were playing, but the way is blocked by a rushing stream.

The people Rip sees as he walks into town are all strangers to him. After many of them stroke their chins upon looking at him, Rip unconsciously strokes his own and finds that his beard has grown a foot long. The town itself looks different. At first, Rip thinks that the liquor from the keg has addled his head, for he has a hard time finding his own house. When he does locate it at last, he finds it in a state of decay. Even the sign over the inn has been changed to one carrying the name of General Washington. The men who are gathered under the sign talk gibberish to him, and they accuse him of trying to stir up trouble by coming armed to an election. When he is finally able to inquire into the whereabouts of his old friends, he is told that men by those names have moved away or have been dead for twenty years.

Finally, an eager young woman pushes through the crowd to look at Rip. Her voice starts a train of thought, and he asks her who she is and who her father is. When she claims to be Rip Van Winkle’s daughter Judith, Rip asks after her mother. When Judith tells him that her mother died after breaking a blood vessel in a fit of anger at a Yankee peddler, Rip identifies himself as Judith’s father.

Although an old woman claims that she recognizes him, the men at the inn only wink at his story until an old man, a descendant of the village historian, vouches for Rip’s tale. He assures the men that he has it as a fact from his historian ancestor that Hendrick Hudson and his crew come to the mountains every twenty years to visit the scene of their exploits, and that the old historian has seen the crew in antique Dutch garb playing at ninepins, just as Rip has related.

Rip spends the rest of his life happily telling his story at the inn until everyone knows it by heart. Ever afterward, when the inhabitants of the village hear thunder in the Catskills, they say that Hendrick Hudson and his crew are playing ninepins, and many a henpecked husband wishes in vain for a drink of Rip Van Winkle’s quieting brew.

Bibliography

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