Washington Irving（1783-1859）

    Washington Irving was born in New York City in 1783. He achieved international fame for the fictional stories "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," as well as for such biographical works as A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus. Irving also served as the U.S. ambassador to Spain in the 1840s, and pushed for stronger copyright laws before his death in 1859. 

Early Years and Career

    Washington Irving was born on April 3, 1783, in New York City. The youngest of 11 children of Scottish-English immigrant parents William Sr. and Sarah, he was named after George Washington, the hero of the just-completed American Revolution, and attended the presidential inauguration of his namesake in 1789. 

    Educated privately, Irving began writing essays under the pen name Jonathan Oldstyle for the Morning Chronicle, which was edited by older brother Peter. After touring Europe from 1804-06, he returned to New York City to practice law – through by his own admission, he was not a good student, and in 1806 he barely passed the bar.

    Preferring to indulge his creative impulses, Irving teamed with friend James Kirke Paulding and oldest brother William to publish Salamagundi, a periodical of humorous essays. In a similar vein, he penned the History of New-York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty, by Diedrich Knickerbocker (1809), a satirical work that earned the writer widespread acclaim. 

    Despite the early successes, Irving's career stalled as he sought to figure out what to do next. He landed a job as editor of Analectic Magazine, and briefly served in the military during the War of 1812. 

European Residency and Fame 

    In 1815, Washington Irving traveled to England to help his brothers with the floundering family business. When that endeavor failed, he composed a collection of stories and essays that became The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. Published in several installments over the course of 1819-20, The Sketch Book contained two of the author's most famous works, "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," and made him a literary star both in England and the United States. 

Irving followed with Bracebridge Hall (1822), and then Tales of a Traveller (1824). After accepting an invitation from the U.S. Minister to Spain, he moved to Madrid in 1826 and embarked on extensive research for A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus (1828), as well as the works that became Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada (1829) and Tales of the Alhambra (1832). Irving was then appointed secretary of the U.S. legation to London in 1829, a post he held until 1832. 

Later Years, Death and Legacy 

    Upon returning to the U.S. in 1832, Washington Irving visited some of the little-known territories off the western fringes of the country, an expedition that inspired A Tour on the Prairies (1835). Continuing the western frontier theme, he wrote Astoria (1836), an account of the formation of John Jacob Astor's fur company, followed by The Adventures of Captain Bonneville (1837). 

    After another stint abroad as U.S. minister to Spain (1842-46), Irving spent his later years at his New York estate of "Sunnyside," which served as a meeting place for the leading writers, artists and politicians of his era. He turned out a succession of mainly historical and biographical works during this time, including the five-volume Life of George Washington (1855-59). Irving passed away at his estate on November 28, 1859.

    Considered perhaps the first true American writer, Irving sought to nurture his successors and pushed for stronger laws to protect writers from copyright infringement. The terminology of his works seeped into American popular culture, with monikers such as "knickerbocker" and "Gotham" becoming affiliated with New York City. Underscoring the endurance of his fictional creations, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" was adapted into a 1999 film by director Tim Burton, and served as the basis for a TV series in 2013.

  华盛顿·欧文是19世纪美国最著名的作家，号称美国文学之父。1783年4月3日出生在纽约一个富商家庭。从欧文少年时代起就喜爱阅读英国作家司各特、拜伦和彭斯等人的作品。欧文的第一部重要作品是《纽约外史》。 1819年，欧文的《见闻札记》出版，引起欧洲和美国文学界的重视，这部作品奠定了欧文在美国文学史上的地位。

早年经历

  华盛顿·欧文，美国作家。出生于纽约。他的父亲是纽约富有的五金商人，长老会执事，政治上反对英国殖民统治；他敬重华盛顿，因而给儿子取名为华盛顿。欧文幼年体弱多病， 16岁辍学，先后在几个律师事务所学法律，但对法律并没有兴趣，喜爱文学，从小喜欢看《鲁滨逊漂流记》、《格列佛游记》这种历险故事，还常常钻到剧院里去看戏。欧文后来最知名的作品是《见闻札记》，写的就是在外游历的故事，不能不说是幼时受到了读书的影响。1802年，19岁的欧文在《早晨纪事报》上发表了几篇书信体散文，崭露头角。1804年因病赴欧洲休养，到过法国、意大利和英国，作了大量旅途笔记，为以后的创作积累了丰富的素材，一度想成为画家。1806年回国后在弗吉尼亚州任律师，后帮助他的两个哥哥经营进口生意。他对法律和经商之道都不甚精通。这时他与律师霍夫曼的女儿玛蒂尔达订婚，妻子早逝于1809年，后来他虽有过几次恋爱，却一直过着独身生活。

  1807年，他和哥哥威廉等人共同创办一种不定期刊物《杂拌》，沿袭18世纪英国作家乔纳森·斯威夫特、亨利·菲尔丁以及约瑟夫·艾迪生和理查德·斯梯尔的《旁观者》的传统，开始了他的文学创作活动，显露出他的幽默、风趣和含蓄的讽刺才能。

纽约外史

  欧文的第一部重要作品是化名狄德里希·尼克尔包克尔所写《纽约外史》(A History of New York，1809年)，作者自称它的主要目的在于“以逗趣的形式体现我们这个城市的传统；阐述本地人的脾性、风俗和特色；给本地的风光与场所以及熟悉的人物披上一层唤起想象力的怪念丛生的联想”。书中讽刺了荷兰殖民者在纽约的统治，驳斥了殖民主义者为奴役和屠杀印第安人所制造的荒谬的论据。这部作品受到欧美广大读者的欢迎，英国小说家沃尔特·司各特曾说,他从未读过这样酷似斯威夫特的风格的作品。 在这之前，美国虽然获得独立已有三十余年，但在文学方面却始终未能摆脱英国的束缚，创作出足以代表这个新兴资产阶级共和国的作品来。欧文运用本国题材写出的《纽约外史》这部具有民族特色的作品，对于促进美国民族文学的发展有着重要的意义。

  《纽约外史》虽风靡一时，而欧文并没有进一步发挥他的文学创作才能。此后10年，除1812年战争期间曾于1814年担任过短期军职之外，一直在帮助他的哥哥经商，1815年欧文去英国利物浦在他哥哥所开设的分行工作；1818年分行因经济萧条而倒闭，欧文留居英国，以写作为生。

  1820年，欧文将他游遍英国的名胜古迹，怀着对英国古老文明的仰慕和对从前资本主义社会的向往，陆续发表许多散文、随笔和故事，共32篇；结集为《见闻札记》（A Sketch Book）出版，以幽默风趣的笔调和富于幻想的浪漫色彩，描写了英国和美国古老的风俗习惯以及善良淳朴的旧式人物。引起欧洲和美国文学界的重视。欧文自己则说:“我只想在全国协奏曲里吹长笛伴奏，而让别人来演奏小提琴和法国号。”这部作品奠定了欧文在美国文学史上的地位。其中的散文《威斯敏斯特教堂》、短篇小说《瑞普·凡·温克尔》和《睡谷的传说》等，都是脍炙人口的不衰之作。欧文还在《英国作家论美国》一文中回答了一个英国作家以极为轻蔑的口吻提出来的问题:“有谁会读一本美国的书呢？”欧文说:“……荣誉和声望并不单靠英国的意见，广大的世界才能给一个国家的名誉作出公断。”有人认为欧文的这篇文章可以看成美国文学的独立宣言。之后,欧文写了体裁相似的《布雷斯布里奇田庄》(Bracebridge Hall,1822年)和故事集《旅客谈》(Tales of a Traveller,1824年)，这两部作品都较《见闻札记》逊色。

  1826年在马德里任美国驻西班牙大使馆馆员。搜集了许多有关哥伦布的珍贵资料，游历了格拉纳达的名胜，并在阿尔罕伯拉宫逗留了将近三个月。这一切激起了他对研究西班牙历史的兴趣。1829年前后，他写了三部有关西班牙的著作：1828年发表《哥伦布的生平和航行》(The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus)。1829年发表《攻克格拉纳达》(The Chronicles of the Conquest of Granada)；同年出版游记、随笔和故事集《阿尔罕伯拉》(Tales of the Alhambra,1832年)。欧文在《阿尔罕伯拉》中以优美的笔调描绘西班牙险峻而悲凉的荒山原野,具有南国情调的幽雅的园林,质朴豪爽的西班牙人民及其风俗人情，同时也生动地叙述了西班牙民间和历史上有关摩尔人的神话和传说。在《阿拉伯星占家的传说》里，欧文利用一个流传很广的传说，揭露了侵略成性的统治者阿本·哈巴兹残忍荒淫的面目，以及道貌岸然、以哲人自居的星占家的卑鄙丑恶的灵魂。在《摩尔人遗产的传说》里，欧文塑造了朴实勤劳、见义勇为的卖水的贩子柏勒吉尔，与贪婪暴戾的法官和警察作对比。

从政经历

  欧文曾任美国驻英公使馆秘书。牛津大学曾授予其名誉法学博士学位，英国皇家学会也向他颁发了勋章。1832年欧文回到美国，在纽约受到热烈欢迎。由于读者迫切需要他描写本国的生活，他曾到新开发的美国西部进行考察，写了《草原游记》。他还根据大皮货商约翰·雅各布·阿斯特提供的材料。为这个大财阀写了一部发家史：《阿斯托里亚》(1838年)。

  1842年再度赴马德里，出任美国驻西班牙公使。

  1846年回国，晚年是在他曾经描写过的睡谷附近度过。这一时期他的主要作品是3部传记：《哥尔德斯密斯传》(The Life of Oliver Goldsmith,1840年)、《穆罕默德及其继承者》(Mahomet and His Successors,1849-1850年)和5卷本《华盛顿传》(The Life of George Washington (5 volumes),1855-1859年)。其中以《哥尔德斯密斯传》写得较好。欧文于1859年11月28日逝世。 美国人民为了怀念这位在文学方面做出突出贡献的作家，在纽约下半旗致哀。

Rip Van Winkle（《瑞普·凡·温克》）

   

Plot

       Rip Van Winkle is an ambitionless and lazy farmer. He tired of his wife’s non-stop nagging at home. He seeks refuge in the mountains where he meets several mountain spirits and tastes the liquor left by them out of curiosity. Because of the magic power of the drink, he falls into a twenty-year sleep. When he wakes up, everything has undergone a tremendous change.

Theme of Rip Van Winkle

    Irving seized on the venerable theme of the henpecked husband who turns the tables on his tyrannical wife, a feat Rip achieves by simply outlasting her.

    Irving believe that the revolution upset the natural order and he never accepts the modern democratic America.

    He contradicted  between work and desire for leisure.After he retured,he loss his identity.

    Rip merely desires a leisurely, casual, convivial life, but his wife calls him home from the congenial atmosphere of the inn and lectures him in bed at night. Irving never, however, permits Dame Van Winkle’s point of view to obtrude; she does not speak in the story, and Irving elicits no sympathy for her. She is the enemy partly because she embodies a whole culture that is at odds with Rip's values: that of the tidy, thrifty, ambitious Dutch.

    While loving freedom, Rip placidly endured the tyranny of Dame Van Winkle and King George and has escaped playing any role in the forging of American liberty. He has avoided the tribulations of family life by losing all title as husband and becoming dependent on his daughter, while he has sloughed off his responsibilities as patriot by choosing “overnight”status as a senior citizen.

    The American Revolutionary War was of great historical importance and influence. A new  republic and democratic country emerged and marked a new beginning of American history.

     The victory of the American people also encouraged those in the colonies ruled by the Spanish and promoted the national liberation struggle of other colonies in the world.

     小说《瑞普·凡·温克》是小说家及历史家华盛顿·欧文(Washington Irving, 1783-1859)的名篇。故事情节主要讲述主人公瑞普·凡·温克喝醉之后在梦中的奇遇，然后顿悟过了一生。

  故事大意为：有一天瑞普·凡·温克在山中遇到背着酒桶的形状古怪的老头子。他带瑞普穿过极深的山峡，来到了一个半圆形的山洼，看到一群奇形怪状的人，不声不响地在玩 着九桂球。这些人看到老头子与瑞普，即停止游戏。痛饮他们带来的酒之后，再开始游戏。瑞普禁不住趁这些人没看见时偷偷地尝了一口酒，觉得酒香四溢，因而再偷喝几口。最后竟至头昏脑胀，两眼发眩，不知不觉之中睡着了。一睡就是二十年。醒后回到自己的村子里，发现村子里没有一个熟人，连他所惧怕的太太也已离开人间。

  这故事与我国《黄粱梦》(元代马致远所撰，系取自枕中记的故事。)内容虽异，但意境相似。感叹人世虚幻，富贵荣华之短促。但更契合“王质烂柯”（典出南朝梁任昉《述异记》）的典故，感叹岁月流逝，人事变迁。