Title: Characters - Rip van winkle
Headings: 
Character list
Analysis of major characters

Content: Rip Van Winkle III Rip's grandson who is merely a baby when Rip returns from his sleep in the mountains. Analysis of major characters
Rip Van Winkle Rip Van Winkle, the main character of the tale and the person from whom it takes its name, is a man of few complexities. Rip seems to go through life without ambition or aspiration and he is characterized by his adolescent mannerisms. He seems to be trapped within himself as a perpetual child and is completely contented to remain that way. He does not care to stand up for himself and is completely submissive to the berating of his overbearing wife, Dame Van Winkle. He is well liked among the villagers, and especially the children, because of his gentility and lackadaisical personality. The truth is, instead of feeling remorse after having lost twenty years of his life, he is relieved. As an old man, his aversion to work and his incapable attitude is societally acceptable. He no longer has to be responsible, and his wife is not around to tell him otherwise. Rip's life exemplified perfectly the escapist fantasy in which he is no longer in charge of himself or his family.