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.
