in what paragraph does Irving specify the time period in which the action of "Rip Van Winkle" is set? How does he link the time setting to the major theme of the story "petticoat government"?

Page 34, 1st Paragraph

This portion of the book finds the characters living after the Revolutionary War- this links the two time periods of the story by 1) referring to the fight and break between America and the yolk of England, and 2) the yolk of petticoats which Van Winkle sees as the yolk of matrimony.