My machine at work went down so I found time.
Calling Sylphie a polygamy cuck is a projection of 21st century insecurities onto a character who is written as a traditional fantasy matriarch. If you look at the character writing and the historical context of the medium, the framing is obvious.
The issue with Slyphie criticism is that it's predicated on modern, western, monogamous standards and aimed at a fictional medieval fantasy world. We can set aside the context of nobility/high status adventurers taking multiple wives being a structural norm. More to the point; the traditional role of the first wife in the Greyrat setup is foundationally a matriarch. The first wife manages the estate, maintains the hierarchy, ensures the survival of the lineage and is ultimately subservient to the husband. Slyphie, by fulfilling the majority of criteria, historical fits into the traditional wife archetype.
The word "cuck" implies betrayal, weakness, and a lack of agency. Sylphie, descriptively, based on the story's text, experiences none of these. When Rudeus brings Roxy into the mix, Sylphie is not blindsided or deceived as she expected- likely years in advance. She understood the situation because she has always known Rudy and made the decision to accept it for the sake of family harmony. A traditional wife in this context prioritizes stability and peace of the family unit over individual liberation. That takes emotional maturity, which is why she is at the center of the matriarchal foundation.
Legitimate her character arc without projecting if you have the mental capacity. She goes from being a royal bodyguard with political influence to sidelining the position for motherhood and manager of family affairs. She handles family finances, plans with the help and provides bousum for Rudy to heal him from his journies and mental health. This is quite literally the definition of a traditional domestic wife.
View her in contrast to the other wives to see the writing. Eris is the modern woman adjacent archetype, within context. Eris has no interest or aptitude for slow life and when introduced to the family, she defines her role as Rudeus's sword- the vanguard. She outsources all traditional wife duties to Sylphie and Roxy. Eris doesn't cook or clean thus breaking the mold of what a spouse in a fantasy patriarchal system, existing outside the domestic hierarchy. Her turning point in her narrative is when she leaves Rudy. In a traditional romance, the female lead stays by the protagonist's side to comfort him but Eris realizes she is too reliant and leaves to train. This is essentially a modern woman, regardless of the baggage people associate with the term. I have both Eris and Roxy over Slyphie because value great independence in a partner and iintellectualism Slyphie doesn't activate me enough because I'm self soothing so motherly qualities don't hit me as hard.
Having mentioned Roxy; she's the intellectual leader of the group. She doesn't really fit the historical archetype of a domestic wife or is she a rebellious modern woman rejecting patriarchy. Roxy represents a kinda modern concept known as the career driven academic woman. Something I deeply admire as I'm obsessed with research.
Sylphie is written to be the unconditionally supportive wife. She handles the home front so the others can operate in their respective spheres without the family unit falling apart.
Calling her a cuck is retarded and sensationalist as it ignores the nuance of her arc and her role as the core of the family. She is a traditional wife to the world she lives in and in the next post, I'll elaborate on why Roxy is more of a career woman than Slyphie.