The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon 599to her husband’s “tall, manly person.” At first, the
husband of the piece refuses to share his financial
troubles with his wife. Finally, the narrator explains
to him that he is “depriving [him] self of the com-
forts of her sympathy” rather than addressing it as
knowledge to which the wife has a right. Neither
man discusses the wife as anything more than
someone who wants only to comfort her husband,
and as someone who will relish the opportunity to
do so. The narrator’s understanding of woman’s true
nature includes that “she will rejoice to prove that
she loves you for yourself.” He continues his argu-
ment by pointing to the “spark of heavenly fire” in
woman’s heart and to her nature as a “ministering
angel” that can appear only when her husband “has
gone with her through the fiery trials of this world.”
Throughout his discussion with the husband about
the reasons why the latter should share the truth
about his financial situation with his wife, the
narrator addresses the wife’s role as nurturer and
supporter and her responsibility only to “prove” her
love for her husband through the “fiery trials” they
encounter. Not once does the narrator address the
responsibility of the husband to share important
life information with his wife and life partner.
Clearly, responsibility for the success of the mar-
riage lies with the wife.
This pattern of wifely responsibility is also
addressed in “Rip Van Winkle,” though the story
uses the opposite situation to show what happens
when one’s wife does not play the role of nurturer
and supporter to her husband. Instead, “all the good
wives of the village . . . took his part in all family
squabbles, and never failed, whenever they talked
those matters over in their evening gossipings, to
lay all the blame on Dame Van Winkle.” Of course,
the opposite was actually true because “Rip’s com-
position was an insuperable aversion to all kinds of
profitable labour.” In fact, it is only because “his wife
kept continually dinning in his ears about his idle-
ness, his carelessness, and the ruin he was bringing
on his family” that Rip does anything of use. The
responsibility of supporting his family financially is
his. Dame Van Winkle’s responsibility is to buoy his
spirits and joyfully support him. Because she instead
chooses to “din,” the other women cast her as the
one at fault in family squabbles.
Rip’s first thoughts when he awakens from his
long slumber include “dread” at the thought of his
wife’s reaction. When he learns that his wife has
died, “there was a drop of comfort at least in this
intelligence.” Neither he nor the narrator casts this
as a blight on Rip’s character, though the narrator
does appear to denigrate Rip’s laziness. In truth, the
only compliment paid to Dame Van Winkle doing
her duty as a wife is the recognition that she “had
always kept [the house] in neat order.” According to
the text, the only responsibility she fulfilled as a wife
was keeping the house neat and tidy. Otherwise, she
failed in her responsibilities. Rip too fails, but his
failures are recounted with comic overtones, whereas
his wife’s are recounted with disdain.
These two tales exemplify the collection’s atti-
tude toward gender and responsibility. Men and
women have different responsibilities based solely
on their genders. When women fail to fulfill these
responsibilities, the text disdains them, whereas it
looks at men’s failures in their responsibilities with
humor or sympathy.
Robin Gray Nicksindividual and Society in The Sketchbook
of Geoffrey Crayon
The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon by Washington
Irving demonstrates the importance of the struggle
between the individual and society in early America.
Several stories in the collection, including “Rural
Life in England” and “Traits of Indian Character,”
deal with this theme.
In “Rural Life in England,” the narrator, Geof-
frey Crayon, looks at the differences between one’s
character and behavior in the city and in the country.
According to the story, people “who see the English-
man only in town are apt to form an unfavourable
opinion of his social character.” His relation to oth-
ers and his need to be formal and civil require him
to behave in this negative way. Because he is engaged
with others constantly, the Englishman in the city is
“absorbed” and “distracted by the thousand engage-
ments . . . in this huge metropolis.” He has so many
people to see and engage with that he is always “on
the point of going somewhere else . . . [and] while
paying a friendly visit, he is calculating how he shall
economize time so as to pay the other visits allotted