*Spoilers*

I am struggling to condemn Gwendolin for marrying Mr Grandcourt, thereby cutting out Mrs Glasher, the mother of Grandcourt's children. There was no guarantee Grandcourt would marry Mrs Glasher and make their son his heir. It seems to me that Grandcourt would refuse out of obstancy and sadism. It is tough on Mrs Glasher and her kids, but it would have been pretty tough on Gwendolin having to work as a governess. Grandcourt would probably have married someone else if she had refused. Maybe Gwendoline does not deserve to live in all that opulence, but neither does Grandcourt. Mrs Glasher and her son was cut out, but Daniel Deronder is cut out because he is illegitimate, and Sir Hugo's daughters are cut out because they are girls. Neither Daniel Deronda, Mrs Glasher and her children or Sir Hugo's daughters live in poverty. They are far better off than the vast majority of the population. They are all better off than Gwendolin would have been working as a governess. Plus, they don't have to live with him. Mrs Glasher is not entirely blame free neither, or at least would not have been considered so when the book was written. She left her husband to live with Grandcourt. She wrote that poison pen letter to Gwendolin, not Grandcourt because a) she could hurt Gwendolin while Grandcourt would only be annoyed, and b) she cannot afford to annoy Grandcourt because he still pays for their upkeep and could still make their lives worse if he had a mind to.