Is Cather saying something about the importance of women in Russian society through the wolf anecdote?

Back in Russia, Peter and Pavel were groomsmen for a friend. After the wedding, there was a big party with a lot of merrymaking, and then everyone got into sleds to go home. Peter and Pavel, with Pavel driving, were in the sled with the bride and groom. It was a moonless night, and wolves began to chase the sleds. One sled veered out of control and tipped over, and the wolves immediately pounced on them. More and more sleds tipped over, and Pavel focused on keeping his sled under control. Soon, all the sleds had tipped over, and Pavel's middle horse was having trouble running. Pavel told the groom that he must throw his bride out of the sled in order to make it lighter, and then he knocked both bride and groom out of the sled. Peter saw nothing. Peter and Pavel were the only two people who survived, and they were shunned by everyone in their village. They had to leave Russia and saved enough money to come to America.

I think that this was a statement that reflected the importance of women in this situation. I'm not sure how this reflects wider Russian society in general but I assume it was patriarchal in nature.