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Content: This story is sympathetic to the lower class. Irving creates a loveable

scoundrel - Huck Finn is a similar hero. Rip is a good ole' boy who

doesn't like to do much work. Or any at all. He responds to his nagging

wife by running away, and she responds to this by nagging more. Theirs

is a dysfunctional household. The story is not sympathetic to Dame Van

Winkle, but who would want a husband or father who did not provide? Generally

we don't respect this kind of man. There is an ironic tone; we know that

he is shiftless and sorry, but we still like the man.