I understand that in those years it was very common for members of the aristocracy to have arranged marriages and eventully take on lovers. What bothered me about the Duke's affair with Bess was that he had her living under the same roof as Georgiana and allowed her to share the dinner table with them.
shareThis movie played very fast and loose with the reality of the relationship between Georgiana and Bess -- at least as it survives in the historical record. Georgiana was either unfazed by or so deep in denial about the affair (at least in the beginning) that she not only defended Bess's presence in her house, she insisted on her innocence. Bess had to be sent to France to cover up her pregnancies by the duke, yet she was always welcomed back by Georgiana with open arms while Georgiana's family objected.
It was an intense friendship between the women and ultimately a marriage of three people. Georgiana was the glamorous and able social and political hostess the duke expected while Bess gave him the fawning devotion his ego required. He was slightly less of a dick to Georgiana because of Bess. Amanda Foreman's biography of Georgiana does a great job of explaining the relationship in detail.
It bothers me too, seville, that he would bring his mistress into the house.
I would personally feel humiliated and I think you are probably right, theseminary, that she was either deeply in denial, unfazed by it all, or perhaps she even chose to embrace it. Her options were so difficult.
She could:
Go into denial and retain her sanity
Embrace the situation because there were more benefits than to oppose it
Be aware of it, but feel unfazed. Perhaps she even cared for Bess
Make a big fuss, and endure the Duke's wrath
She could have sulked about and made the situation tense, but it would only bring more unhappiness on herself. The Duke wielded all of the power. She was so limited on what she could do. Sometimes I'm not sure if other people (nobody in this thread) who become familiar with Georgiana's story understand that she could not just divorce the Duke, take the children, and "take him for half of everything." I think I would choose to embrace it, so I could live as peacefully as I could. No way would I butt heads with the Duke when he could make my life hell and take my children away..