Rip Van Winkle, Washington Irving (1819)

May 22, 2026 · 43 min

About this episode

This episode features a reading of Washington Irving's tale 'Rip Van Winkle', exploring themes of liberation and character in the context of the American Revolution.

“Rip Van Winkle 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.” Rip Van Winkle is one of those characters whom everyone feels they have heard of, many could identify why, few could delve into any particulars, and nearly none born after 1980 have read of directly. Maybe I’ll catch a few more today with this reading of Washington Irving’s entertaining tale of liberation. Yes, the story traverses the American Revolution, but there is a parallel and far more passive overthrow of power occurring as well. Rip Van Winkle, a kind-hearted but rather unproductive man, goes off into the Kaatskill Mountains (now known as the Catskills) to hunt squirrels and generally avoid the tyranny of his “ termagant ” wife, Dame Van Winkle. It seems Dame Van Winkle could never seem to quiet her disapproval of Rip’s casual, feckless ways, and “ poor Rip was at last reduced almost to despair; and his only alternative, to escape from the labour of the farm and clamour of his wife, was to take gun in hand and stroll away into…

People in this episode

Host: Ruby Love

Topics covered

American Revolution
liberation
character study
folklore
literature

Keywords

Rip Van Winkle
Washington Irving
American Revolution
literature
character study
folklore

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Kaatskill Mountains, Catskills