Literature’s ability to influence the evolution of art through the ages highlights the importance of stepping forward. Throughout art history, the phrase, “The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same,” is a recurring motif and the essence of its origin still rings true today. History does indeed repeat itself in differing images. Washington Irving’s penning of “Rip Van Winkle” displays a dramatic tension between stasis and change. Through the plight of the main character, this story explores the inevitable truth that time does not cease for anyone.
The topic of time has held a place in discussions for centuries and has provided a variety of plots and perspectives in film and art forms. Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” was believed to be influenced by the German folktale “Peter Klaus the Goatherd.” Both stories center around the main character who decides to drink alcohol with a group of men and somehow falls asleep for twenty years. However, unlike Rip Van Winkle, when Peter awoke from his slumber, not much had changed politically or historically. Irving, on the other hand, chose to incorporate political and historical change with the element of stasis in “Rip Van Winkle.” This same element was also the central theme of the box office hit Good-Bye Lenin! by German filmmaker Wolf Gang Becker, who tells a very similar story from the aspect of an East German family during the German reunification of 1989-1990. Just as Irving pointed out the major transformation that occurred after the American Revolution while Rip was taking his twenty-year nap. Good Bye, Lenin! explores the cultural changes that took place during Die Wende while Christiane was sleeping (Hillman 221-223). Both writers chose to use a character that went through an extended period of sleep, that began during one political regime and ended during another.
After the Revolutionary War, Americans wanted assurance that the new form of government would be successful. Post Wende Germans wanted assurances that German history, which had been plagued by genocide and division, would be rewritten to reveal a peaceful and democratic society. After Christiane awoke from her coma, she seemed to experience the same puzzlement and disorientation that Rip experienced when he returned to his village. The story proclaims, “The very village was altered: it was larger and more populous. There were rows of houses which he had never seen before, and those which had been his familiar haunts had disappeared. Strange names were over the doors—strange faces at the windows—everything was strange” (Irving 1011).
Irving’s description of Rip’s attitude toward the world was one of contentment and simplicity. As the world around him evolved, Rip remained the same. Before he fell asleep on a hill twenty years prior, his wife spends much time nagging Rip to take care of the farm and the family. However, Rip was a master of excuses and did his best to evade such responsibilities. He escaped from the orders by walking off by himself, fishing, or spending time in the presence of his sympathizing friends. Thus, his wife grew vastly irritated by her husband’s inability to perform his duties, and he did not have any desire to change.
“Rip Van Winkle” was penned during a time when America was developing and changing as a nation. The United States was about to experience its first economic collapse with the Panic of 1819. After the Napoleonic Wars, Europe was no longer able to purchase agricultural goods from the United States.; coupled with overextension of credit by the Second Bank the US economy was headed for disaster. These events were on the heels of the Era of Good Feelings when American's were reeling from a sense of purpose and a desire to unify after the War of 1812 and the Napoleonic Wars. In political relations to Rip Van Winkle’s culture shock, the portrait of King George hanging on a wall in a place he frequented was no longer displayed. Instead, a portrait of George Washington hung proudly on the wall. The similarities between the two are frankly obvious. Both portrait subjects share the same name of George. To a degree, the more things have changed in his small town, the more that they have stayed the same. American independence, for the villagers, represents the progress of freedom over absolute power. However, for Rip Van Winkle, there is no inherent change. The American Revolution had made a very small impression on him and Rip reverted back to his old idle habit. Nevertheless, there was a small change: the sign of King George was transformed into that of General Washington. However, this plot point raises the question of is this was real change or just a ploy to appeal to our imagination to make us think real progress had been made.
Irving’s play on change, as well as his profound influence on media and art, have shaped the future as one knows it. Although the concept of stasis and lost time with regard to people is not new, Irving brought the ideologies to life through his literature. The story of Rip Van Winkle showcases the versatility of the blueprint plot. Thus, setting the groundwork for existential impact throughout modern mainstream media.
In modern terms, Rip Van Winkle can most likely relate to the modern fictional character Captain Steve Rogers. Rogers finds himself in the middle of New York City on a busy day with hundreds of people bustling by the electronically lit square. Rogers disappeared during World War I shortly after he was cryopreserved. He did not awaken until 70 years later, and during that time he missed the entirety of World War II and the Vietnam war (Dittmer 629). Although Captain America is not the same as some of the other “Rip Van Winkle” tropes, conceptually the similarities are unmistakable.
Alternatively, Van Winkle’s return to reality was somewhat bittersweet but stable. A differing factor between Rip Van Winkle and Captain America is the prioritization of stability. Steve Rogers returns to an evolved world on the edge of destruction. Evidently, Steve Rogers finds himself a prime protagonist in the storyline. While on the other hand, Rip Van Winkle finds himself as the assumed antagonist. The suspicion of loyalty and sympathy towards Great Britain was a concern for the other townspeople. The times had indeed changed and the political climate with it.
In contrast to the evolved blueprint, modern media has a tendency to showcase stasis as an introduction to a collusive mess waiting to unravel later in the storyline. The theoretical sciences that brought Captain America to life in the Marvel realm bring light to the American ideals of perfectionism. The super soldier serum that Steve Rogers was injected with before he was frozen for decades was a matter of biological warfare. In the hopes that the perfect soldier would then become the standard of American warfare. Political schemes being implemented by individuals in high positions of power are no stranger to today’s modern climate. Hydra’s collusion with foreign scientists helped orchestrate the phenomena that is the super soldier. However, Hydra’s intention was to use the serum to form an army of super soldiers to overtake the world.
The phenomena of stasis and racing time play an essential role in groundbreaking art forms as the modern world currently knows it. The story would like the reader to believe that Rip Van Winkle continued to live a peaceful life, ultimately becoming the embodiment of a nostalgia for a time when life was simpler. The likes of Irving took a crucial part in laying the groundwork for an array of different storylines utilizing the similar ideas, techniques, and conceptualizations exhibited in “Rip Van Winkle.” Irving’s work serves as a reminder that time is a continuous force that cannot be impeded, and the choice to change is left entirely up to the individual.