I wonder if other "Rider-Waite" clones have picked up on this "similarity"? The Sharman-Caselli, although it doesn't stick rigidly to the RWS, has the woman in blue and the man in red. I don't have a RWS-original deck, but on Tarot.com's illustrations of the RWS the colouring used is similar (although the man has blue leggings, the main colour seems to be his red cloak).
Could this be a clue to the elemental associations if not allusions to actual characters from the deck? I would take it similar to the title "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus": representations of gender and element stereotypes rather than actual people. Red is the grounding, base colour for male action, and blue is the colour of communication and feeling, a female attribute. It could be saying that, in effect, human folly does not stem from only one side, it can come from both, taking a holistic view rather than the view that one side is more, or less valuable or than the other?
tarot.com website said:
The demons of madness and despair are released from ancient hiding places, and nature conspires with human failings to destabilize a society.
"Madness" being the male "more haste, less speed" active idea and "despair" relating to "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" emotional aspect.