Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle, has been interpreted from political, social, and psychological perspectives. Motifs such as escape, alienation, identity, and political change have been seized upon as providing the key to Rip's unique experience. All of these approaches no doubt contribute something to the appreciation of the story and of Irving's genius. (Bronwin 19)
First, the conceit of having Rip sleep through the transition from British colonial to independent republican America allows Irving to play the part of friendly critic of the American regime. He can do this by portraying Rip, who was a product of the old order, in a sympathetic light as compared to the psychology of the new order which came into being during Rip's absence. Second, Irving is presenting in a literary form a kind of philosophy of history wherein the stages of the progress of society or civilization from the earliest to the most advanced are discernible.
Third, Irving's purpose in the story is to remind us of the importance of the past to any community's self-understanding and especially the importance of remembering the community's forgotten progenitors and its heroic origins. Irving did not want the tremendous historical upheavals which had overtaken American society to mean a complete rupture with the historical past. This past is something which the currently living should be encouraged to look back and up to. (Bronwin 86)
