투 고 일 : 2006. 03. 16. - 2006. 04. 30.
심 사 일 : 2006. 03. 20. - 2006. 05. 13.
게재결정 : 2006. 05. 15.
주 제 어 : Washington Irving, Rip Van Winkle, folktale, German legends, local setting,
fantasy, American myth
“Rip Van Winkle”: The First Genuine Short
Story found within Various Folktale
Characteristics
*
Kim Seung-won
22)
In “Rip Van Winkle”, Washington Irving creates a romantic world that
is separated from the real world, and he well utilizes an American
background and history to construct the imaginary of his story. Though
many scholars critique “Rip Van Winkle” and say it is not a literary folk
tale, other readers regard this story as “the” American literary folk tale
because Irving bases his story on various characteristics of a folktale. He
uses German legends such as Peter Klaus and gets his story in places such
as American local settings―Kaastskill Mountains and the Hudson River.
Irving uses a genuine folktale and adds historical facts and various elements
of fairytales to create an imaginary work considered to be one of the first
generation of genuine short stories in American literature.
* University of Texas at Arlington(kimsw1990@hotmail.com)
348 󰡔동화와번역󰡕 제11집(2006. 6)
Born and raised in New York, Washington Irving (1783-1859) initially
went to Europe for health reasons in 1804, returning after two years. He
crossed the Atlantic again in 1815, and for seventeen years he lived abroad.
During this time, he researched various European cultures and literary
sources. While staying in Europe, he became interested in European history
and legends. This interest is shown in several of his works, such as The
Sketch Book (1819-1820), Bracebridge Hall (1822), Tales of a Traveler (1824),
Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus (1828), Conquest of Granada (1829),
Voyages of the Companions of Columbus (1831), and The Alhambra (1832). These
various works are all related to European sources. Irving developed a special
interest in German folktales, and he uses many motifs from the German
folktales to create his unique stories. Irving borrowed the story and motif
of “Rip Van Winkle” from a German legend―Peter Klaus the Goatherd. In
Guide to American Literature, James T. Callow and Robert J. Reilly explain
Irving’s connection with German folklore. They state:
[…] Irving began learning the German language. He read the tale of Peter
Klaus, a goatherd who enters a cave, acts as pinsetter for twelve knightly
bowlers, drinks some wine from an inexhaustible tankard, awakens twenty years
later minus his goats and dog but with a footlonger
‐
beard, and looks for
family and friends in a village he hardly recognizes. (78)
Through the comparison of these two stories, readers realize that the
characters, setting, motif, and plot of “Rip Van Winkle” resemble those
found in Peter Klaus. In “Rip Van Winkle”, Irving uses the settings of mythic
mountains and places where Rip Van Winkle met mysterious people. Then,