Late 1700s: Husbands and wives strictly divided their tasks. Men were responsible for farming, managing finances, and business affairs, while women took care of the home, children, and garden.

Today: Couples are more likely to share responsibilities based on individual strengths, yet women often still handle most house cleaning and child care duties.

Late 1700s: Laws made it challenging, if not impossible, for Dame Van Winkle to divorce her husband and remarry, even after being abandoned for two decades.

Today: A woman in Dame Van Winkle's situation could divorce her husband after abandonment and find a new partner to help manage the farm.

Late 1770s: Irving's hometown, New York City, was a major metropolitan hub with a population of 80,000, while the entire United States had fewer than 7 million people.

Today: New York City's population alone exceeds 7 million.

Three outstanding unabridged versions of "Rip Van Winkle" are available on audiocassette or compact disc. Each version is paired with "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." A reading by Jim Beach was produced in 1990 by Blackstone Books. James Hamilton narrates both stories in the 1993 recording by Recorded Books, LLC. Additionally, George Vafiadis's reading was recorded in 2000 by Sound Room Publishers.

Tales of Washington Irving (1987) is an animated film collection released on videocassette, featuring works from 1970. Distributed by MGM/UA Home Video, the 48-minute tape includes "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," with voice performances by Mel Blanc and other well-known stars.

A children's video adaptation based on Irving's story, Rip Van Winkle, was created in 1997 by Rabbit Ears Productions. Narrated by Angelica Huston, it also features original music by Jay Ungar and Molly Mason.

Becoming a Nation

Washington Irving was born in 1783, the year the American Revolution was officially concluded with the Treaty of Paris. Although his parents were born in England, Irving was part of the first generation to recognize from birth that they were not British subjects, but Americans. The nation was still in its infancy and largely undefined. The implications of the Revolution and how the new country would differ from the old colonies were not yet clear. Irving explored this issue in "Rip Van Winkle," where his characters passionately debate political change on election day.

Before the century's end, society's men and women donned elaborate powdered wigs and ornate clothing similar to that of the French court. However, the ideal shifted to the common man, and the notion of a nation governed by a wealthy aristocracy began to give way to a more egalitarian concept of "rule by the people," meaning rule by all white men, regardless of social class. In 1792, the Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties were established. Scenes like the one Rip encounters upon returning to his village, where a "crowd of folk" argue and are on the brink of rioting on election day, became common across the country. The shift to egalitarian rule was tumultuous. Topics such as "citizens' rights," including property rights, were hotly debated, often marked by ignorance and anger.

When "Rip Van Winkle" was published in 1819, the question of Native American habitation was largely unaddressed. Native Americans were frequently displaced as the new nation expanded westward, and in 1830, Congress established the Oklahoma Indian Territory, forcibly relocating thousands. The appropriate role for Native Americans in the new America became an increasingly debated issue. In 1848, Irving added a "postscript" to "Rip Van Winkle," following the "Note." This addition, often omitted in modern editions, recounts several Native American traditional stories about ghosts and spirits in the Catskill region, reinforcing the ancient mystery Irving sought to evoke in the story.

The New American Literature

"Rip Van Winkle" emerged during a time when America sought a new kind of literature to reflect its self-image. At the close of the eighteenth century, American writing primarily consisted of schoolbooks, sermons, and historical essays, developing ideas originating from Europe. There was little to distinguish American literature from British literature. A handful of plays—most of them poor in quality and none still performed—featured American characters, but readers looking for fiction had to import novels from England. The new nation now wanted to forge ahead, creating American ideas and models for future generations to emulate.

One of the most notable aspects of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. for contemporary readers is its strong European influence. Many of the thirty or so sketches and stories revolve around English characters in English settings. Some plots, such as that of "Rip Van Winkle," are adapted from German folk tales. However, readers in the 1820s were particularly impressed by two things: a few stories, including "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," were set in the United States, and the writing was more compelling and vivid than anything else available at the time. The American-set stories featured romantic depictions of the stunning and formidable American landscapes, celebrating the desire to escape from society and reconnect with the wilderness—a theme that soon became quintessentially American.

For the next fifty years, Irving served as a model for writers on both sides of the Atlantic. A group of satirists in New York during the early nineteenth century even named themselves the "Knickerbocker Group" in his honor. Though they are largely forgotten today, Irving's humor and writing style influenced generations of prominent writers, including Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, and Mark Twain. Despite his success in blending European material with American settings, Irving had no predecessors to guide him in this endeavor.