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DameVanWinkleisdescribedasacaptious,man-eatingwomanwhoalwaysscoldsherhusbandinthisstory.Butforme,Mrs.WinkleisabravelaboriouswomanAsavillain,shemakesRipVanWinkle’simageofa“simple,good-naturedman”moreclear,andsheisthecarrieroftheprejudiceofwomeninthatsociety.Soinmyopinionthisstorydoescarrysexualprejudice.Damevanwinkleisatypicalhellcataccordingtothedescriptioninthestory.Shealwaystaxeswithherhusbandvolublyandactingveryshrewish.FormthedescriptionofRipas“akindneighbor,andahusbandwhoobeyedhiswife”inthebeginningifthestory,wecanseethatinrip’sfamily,thepersonwhoroletheroastisDameVanWinkleandshecontrolsherhusbandwithherpower.Withthisdescription,ourfirstexpressionofMrs.Winkleisthatsheisadomineeringwoman.Whenwereadthesentence:”hertonguewasendlesslygoing.Everythinghesaidordidwassuretoproducemoreangrytalk.”wecangettheimagethatDameVanwinkleissharp-tonguedandfractious.Asthedevelopmentoftheplot,theauthorportrayedapicturethatMrs.Winklebreakintotheclubtoblameallthepeopleabouttheirworthlessnessandidleness.Afterreadingalltheseevidenceabove,itiseasyforustobuilduptheexpressionthatdamevanwinkleisareallyviragointhesmallvillage.Butifwereaddeeplyintothestorywecanfindthatthiskindofimageiscarryingalotofprejudice.Mrs.Winkleisaspecialwomanandsheisbraveandhardworking.Thestorytellsusthatripisakindandeasy-goingman,whenhiswifeblameshim,henevertalkback.Atthesametime,theauthoralsowritethat“RipVanWinklehadonegreatfault;hedisliked---indeed,hehated---anykindofprofitablelabour.”Theconditionofhisfarmisworsethananyofhisneighbors’butripisstillwonderinginthewoodsorlazingawaywiththepeopleintheclubinsteadofdoingfarmwork.Itmeansthatasamanwhoshouldworkandearnmoneytosupporthisfamily,ripisatotalfailure.Thenwewillaskwhoisworkingtotakecareofthefamily?Ofcausetheanswerisdamevanwinkle.Sincethehusbandnevertakeshisresponsibility,thewifehastogooutworkinglikeaman,dotheentirehouseworkandbringupthechildren.Inthestorywhenripgotbacktohisvillage,thereisasentence:“Heenteredtheruinsofthehouse,which,totellthetruth,DameVanWinklehadalwayskeptingoodorder.”ThismeansthatMrs.Winkleisagoodhousewife.DameVanwinkleisfractiousandcaptious,butshehastobesuchaviragobecauseherhusbandisadawdlerwhonevertakeshisresponsibility.Intheyearsthataredescribedinthestory,allthejudgmentsaboutwomenaremadebythemen.Amanwhoisalwayswonderingandchattingwithotherscanbeforgivenandacceptedbythepublic,butawomanwhoisbravetopointouttheworthlessnessandidlenessofmenwillbecalledaviragoandthepublicwillturnitsbackonher.FromthestorywecanseethatthepeopleinRip’svillagearedescribedas:”WhenevertheydiscussedtheVanWinklefamily'squarrels,theyalwaysdecidedthatDameVanWinklewaswrong.”Andtherearealotoffainéantinthevillage,especiallyintheinnandthesepeople’swivesmusthavecompliant,butthesewomenjustchoosetokeepsilentandcomply.OnlyDameVanWinklehasthecouragetospeakout.Shenotonlyblamesherownhusbandbutalsocensuresthepeoplewhoalwaysconnivethesepokes.Tomywayofthinking,damevanwinkleisabravewomanwhoisnotafraidofspeakingouthercompliantinthepatriarchalsociety.Asavillain,Mrs.Winkle’snegativeimagehelpstheauthortomakeRipasthevictimofaterriblewife.AtthebeginningofthestorytheauthordescribedRipasanice,easy-goingmanandeveryoneinthevillagelikeshimexceptofhiswife.Heisscoldedoftenbyoftenbutneverdaretofightback.TheworseMrs.Winkleisdescribed,thepitifulRipisconsidered.Bythisway,thestorysuccessfullyconvincedthereaderstobelievethatagoodwomanshouldbequietandsubmissive;theyshouldneverchallengethedominationofmen.Mrs.Winkleisagoodcarrierofthenegativeopinionofapowerfulandbravewomanthatwasholdbymen.Thisstorydosecarriesthesexualprejudiceofwomen.First,thenameofMrs.Winkleisironical.Theword“dame”isatitlefornoblewomenbutMrs.Winkleisjustacountrywomanwhohasnoconnectionwithanoblewoman.Theauthorhereisusingthiswordtoshowhissarcasmofwomen.Second,thereasonforustotakeMrs.WinkleasaviragoisthattheadjectivesandsentencesthatusedbytheauthortodescribeDameVanWinkleareallnegative.Suchas“whatdogiseverbraveenoughtostandfirmagainsttheterrorsofawoman'stongue?”and“Morning,noon,andnight,hertonguewasendlesslygoing.”Thirdly,theauthornevertriestodescribedetailsaboutMrs.Winkleoranyotherwomeninthisstory.Weonlyknowhernameandhertypicalimageisavirago.Thisshowstheauthor’sattitudetowardswomen:ignoreanddepreciate.ThesameattitudecanbeseenfromthedepictionofMrs.Winkle’sdeath:”Shebrokeabloodvesselinangeratamanwhocamesellingthingsatourdoor.ThiscauseofdeathforDameVanWinkleislikeajoke,whileattheendRipgetsafamilyandbecomestherespectfuloldmaninthevillage,hisstoryistoldoncebyonce.Withtheseevidencesabovewecanseethatthestorycarriessexualprejudice.Asaconclusion,DameVanWinkleisabrave,hardworkingandrespectfulwoman;sheisdescribedasaviragobecausetheauthorwantedtoshowthereaderstheruleforwomeninthepatriarchalsociety.Sothestoryobviouslyhassexualprejudice.