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

Content: Her husband is a veritable failure who, though he does make some effort, can barely provide for his family. She has essentially been stuck with someone with whom she must become a parent rather than a spouse. She and her husband are polar opposites but, at the same time, they are different sides of the same coin. They exemplify the idea that there is no one who is without fault and that the grass is not necessarily greener on the other side. Derrick Van Brummel As the village school master, Derrick Van Brummel is the most learned gentlemen of the pack that gather at Nicholas Vedder's inn. He is described in the text as a "dapper learned gentleman who was not to be daunted by the most gigantic word in the dictionary," (Irving). He is the group's source of all things intellectual and is a leader among the deliberations of current events and town gossip. After Rip disappears, Van Brummel goes to join the war efforts and becomes a very successful general. After the war ends, he joins congress and becomes an effective politician. He represents everything that Rip is not.