@WrongHanded - food for thought, as all folks have different tolerances - has your wife tried the 1895 .45-70? Does it really kick her too hard? Does it fit her poorly?
My wife picked a .45-70 Guide Gun as her go-to deer rifle about 10yrs ago right after we started dating. She asked if she could hunt with me that season, and said she’d need a rifle - I told her to open the safe on the far left, anything inside she could use. She picked the Marlin 1895. I chuckled and said - sure, let’s go try that thing out for you... all the while planning in my head the .243win Rem 700 I would expect to buy for her when she realized the Marlin was too much for her. Fast-forward those ~10yrs and she’s still shooting it, with a smile on her face, and has since picked up a second 1895, but in SBL trim.
She’s 5’3” and a well muscled 125lbs. She shoots a .338wm, 7rm, 416ruger, and those .45-70’s. Her deer hunting revolver is a 7.5” Super Redhawk 44mag.
I built a 7rm 700 for my sister 4 or 5 yrs ago. She’s 5’9” and 135 on her driver’s license, but I’d reckon she’s more like 140 on the hoof. The stock fit and balance made the difference for her. She’s been shooting a 44mag 5.5” Super Blackhawk since she was in 5th grade. Her husband had stuck her with a poorly sporterized Mosin, she complained it kicked like a mule and was too heavy for hunting. Her 7RM is a pound heavier, an inch shorter in pull with a higher comb, but better balanced, and recoils about the same - one she hates, one she loves.
Check weld with a comb pad, a proper stock fit, and recoil pad, with sufficient rifle weight AND balance to keep things Kosher, from there on out, it’s a matter of mental fortitude to get through the acclimation process.