I believe the correct answer is that prevailing view of women at the time was namely that they are tender-hearted women and vulnerable, depicted weeping and mourning for their husbands.
The “Oath of the Horatii” (“Le Serment des Horaces”) is a neoclassical painting by the French artist Jacques-Louis David painted in 1784. This painting presents a scene of dispute between warring cities Rome and Alba Longa, according to the Roman legend. In this painting, the emphasis is on the importance of patriotism and masculine self-sacrifice for one's country, due which women are depicted as tender-hearted and vulnerable, mourning and weeping for their men going to war.