Dame Van Winkle (his wife) would always get angry with him over his duties, enough so for Van Winkle to run away. Irving uses the wife's character to symbolize what Americans were going through with the harsh treatment imposed by the British authority. .
I really do think the entire first half of the short story was dedicated to this tyranny endured by the "American's". Dame Van Winkle symbolizes that very tyranny, while Rip is the abused American settlements and their necessity to cut ties with the English. If you read the short story with that premise in mind, to me it makes a lot more sense. Dame's attitude creates almost a prison in which Rip is held captive. Like many colonists at the time, Rip has a desire to get away from this unfair treatment. He thinks of himself as a force of good, yet Dame almost convinces him of the opposite. Rip is like the colonies; an independent, self-sustaining country that will give asylum to anyone who desires it. He (like many if not most of the people in that time) could not handle this tyranny anymore. For Rip, there was only one option; get out of dodge. .
But are Dame's wild accusations about her husband true? Unfortunately they are. Rip's good, kind natured heart is almost to a fault. He would rather help everyone else other than his family without reserve. In fact, Rip does not care at all for the livelihood of his farm and family. He helps other so much; he looses interest in the people closest to him. He has failed as a husband and a father, moreover, their lives and livelihood. "His fences were continually falling to pieces; his cow would either go astray or get among the cabbages; weeds were sure to grow quicker in his fields than anywhere else" (Baym 33). To me, Rips desire to help everyone other than his loved ones is reason enough for Dame to be extremely upset with him. Using the same line of thinking, the British government needed to impose such taxes and tariffs on the colonists, claiming they started to ignore the duties that were expected of them.