The story of Rip Van Winkle was written by Washington Irving in the late 1760s or early 1770s, and published around 1819. He was one of America’s most influential humorist and Rip Van Winkle is his masterpiece in fiction, suggested by a German folk-tale. This story has been told leisurely by Irving with a quaint pathos and lambent humor, and he has been successful at the play of thought, language and emotions. It’s a delightful reading that grips the reader who would not get up without completing it.
Irving’s protagonist in the story is Rip Van Winkle, a rustic who is lazy, escapes work, hunts, helps his neighborhood, plays with children, withdraws to the wilderness for twenty long years and returns to his village only to find changes which bewilder him. As the protagonist is a rustic character, so is Irving’s humor in the story. His use of dialect, scenes, situations, characters, native lifestyle and customs, together contribute to the lambent humor presented in this work.
Rip Van Winkle’s situation and flawed character and his relations with his domineering wife largely bring out the humor in the story. He is referred to as “an obedient, henpecked husband” whereas his wife Dame Van Winkle is called the “shrew” under whose governance their home becomes a “fiery furnace of domestic tribulation.” It’s funny how Rip slyly escapes when he is nagged by his wife to do some household chores. In the end when he returns to his village and gets to know that his wife is no more, Irving pokes fun by saying that he got free of the “petticoat government” which is actually suggestive of cheap humor. All this clearly suggests Rip’s unfortunate relation with a “termagant” wife and also his own personality, bringing out the sheer humor of his predicament in a very skillful and subtle way.
Irving shows the stark contrast between lazy Rip Van Winkle and his ancestors, who were “gallant” men of war. This contrast puts down Rip in a way to emphasize his laid back attitude and makes fun of the character when he’s said to have gained popularity outside, owing to the shrewd subjection at home. There’s a pun made on him as well when he’s said to be “thrice blessed” for having a “termagant wife” whose “lecture is worth all the sermons in the world”. There’s no doubt that Irving sympathizes with Rip at the same time. He’s shown to be a favorite of the village children who love to play with him and also of the women folk who enjoy gossiping about him, always blaming Dame Van Winkle for being so crude.
The plight of Rip’s farm is pitiable but it is presented in a humorous way. It’s described as the
“most pestilent little piece of ground” where everything goes wrong. The fences keep breaking and falling, and “his cow would either go astray or get among the cabbages” which makes it seem as if the cow went crazy. Irving continues to give a very vivid and visual description of Rip’s family especially of his son’s appearance and dressing, how he wears his father’s “cast-off galligaskins” that he has to hold with one hand. This not only helps the reader in visualizing but also amuses to a great extent. Rip’s dog is called a courageous animal but in the very next sentence he’s mocked at, for not being able to withstand Dame’s torturous tongue that makes his tail to droop down and curl between his legs. This creates a very funny scene and makes the reader laugh. Irving in these instances creates humor by contrasting two qualities of the same character, in a way which is mocking also. He calls the club gossipers philosophers and sages, but adds humor by making fun of their idle talks, “sleepy stories” and their keenness shown in public events which took place months ago. Irving slyly hints at this “junto” of being slow and not so aware as they should be. Rip is shown to be unprofitable for his house, but he’s adept and prompt in doing the hardest of tasks for people in need. Further in the woods Rip is unnerved by the strangers but had the courage to drink from their flagon. And after twenty years when he returns to his village, the same club of the so called philosophers indulging in cheap village gossip now has members speaking of in-depth political matters, of the Congress and the Tories. This change is remarkable yet strangely funny.
Irving’s imagination, vivid descriptions and amusing use of words has made Rip Van Winkle a humorous and entertaining story. His skill of contrasting different qualities or states of the same character, especially brought out the humor in this story. Contrasting the change in the characters over a period of time, like that of the club members, and Rip’s state of living before and after the lapse of time, do create humor and amuse the readers. Nevertheless, Irving has used different kinds of humor in this story very skillfully along with a touch of pathos. He has used pun, mocked the characters, and slyly emphasized on their characteristics, making the story a humorous one. His use of words, style, expression, and visual descriptions together add color, humor and flavor to the story, in such a way that the readers are compelled to read the whole story and get totally engrossed in it, to come out absolutely delighted and tickled in the end. The best part being that the story teaches important lessons for life, to not be lazy and take life for granted. To conclude RipVan Winkle makes a light humorous reading surely to be remembered forever.
References
E-notes. 2012. Humor. 3 April 2012.
http://www.enotes.com/humor-reference/humor
Google Books. 2012. Rip Van Winkle. 3 April 2012.
http://books.google.co.in/books/about/Rip_Van_Winkle.html?id=dIERAAAAYAAJ&redir_esc=y
Short Stories. 2012. Washington Irving. 3 April 2012.
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/RipVan.shtml
Rip Van Winkle. 2011. Cummings Study Guide. 3 April 2012.
http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides3/Winkle.html
20-20 Site. 2012. The Story of Rip Van Winkle. 3 April 2012.
http://www.2020site.org/robbinhood/rip.html
E-notes. 2012. Humor. 3 April 2012.
http://www.enotes.com/rip-van-winkle-reference/rip-van-winkle
