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The narrator's point of view in "Rip Van Winkle" is staunchly on the side of Rip. As is revealed in the bookending notes of the story, Irving's “Diedrich Knickerbocker” is the narrator of the story, as well as someone personally acquainted with Rip Van Winkle himself. The narrator treats Rip with sympathy just as much as he treats Dame Van Winkle with scorn. In each scene, Rip is portrayed as a simple, friendly, fundamentally good man. He may be lazy and prone to wandering, but he helps his neighbors and enjoys spending time with his friends and his dog. 

In contrast, the narrator uses the phrase "hen-pecked" early on to describe Rip in relation to his wife, and proceeds to refer to Dame Van Winkle as both a "shrew" and "termagant." However, this is a woman that is never even given a first name and who, throughout the story, is shown working to maintain a household with no help from her husband. At no point in the story does anyone say anything negative about Rip, even after his disappearance for twenty years. As far as the narrator is concerned, Rip is simply a victim of circumstance—first when his wife expects help from him in their colonial village, then when Rip is swept away into the forest, given alcohol by strange spirits, and forced to sleep for twenty years. When told about his wife's death, he feels only "comfort." He is then welcomed home, and the village is happy to have him back to live out the rest of his days as a town elder and storyteller. The narrator's point of view thus mirrors Rip's point of view. 

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