I've had a few female friends who've spent time in prison, and they were struck by how the women censored emotion. Grief and morning were strictly forbidden.

This also reminds me of the first episode of that HBO show about a family that runs a funeral home (I only saw the first episode). The father is killed, and the mother is forbidden to morn at the wake - a wake being held in her own funeral parlor - as all mourners are taken into a side room so as not to upset the other attendees.

Finally at the grave site the widow and her grief burst forth and she drapes her wailing body over the coffin. Very un-American.