Not really sure what you want from the quest? It is a very shitty situation, and there are no good endings.
One my favorite aspects of it is the daughter taking things into her own hands.
Wait until Heart of Stone. That quest line does a fantastic job handling a similar situation from the perspective of the abusee. That quest actually allows you to punish the abuser in much more direct manner. If you choose.
Also, male-gaze stuff aside, this particular game itself is not overtly sexist or misogynistic, but its world 110% is. That is not a great feeling so, I get why that is a major turn off. Witcher 1 is definitely a sexist shit-heap though.
One my favorite aspects of it is the daughter taking things into her own hands.
Played through it for the first time in just the past couple days, and felt similarly to you. Chose every option to condemn him, but it still left a bad taste. Game constantly allows the Baron to give excuse after excuse, then seek redemption, then either die piteously or take his abused wife back, rather than allowing her to go with her daughter as she originally planned.
Yes, the point is that regular people can be monstrous, how war breaks people, but the questline leans hard on humanizing the abuser rather than the abused. Because it's entirely from his perspective, it attempts to cast her disproportionately in bad light—"oh, no, the Baron's beatings didn't cause her miscarriage, actually it was her deal with the witches," "oh, Geralt, I think you'll feel differently about my abuses once I tell you how she cheated on me one time and says mean things to me by the way I slaughtered the innocent guy she cucked me with in front of her then beat her unconscious har har what else could I do with a 'hysterical' woman."
Up to where I am so far, I'd say the game's writing is often pretty sexist to misogynistic, and the camera is all male gaze all the time—the latter of which makes me less inclined to give their intentions with the former the benefit of the doubt. It certainly excels in many ways, but a good deal of the time I'm rolling my eyes frustratedly. The Baron's character felt clearly inspired by ASOIAF's Robert Baratheon, but the writing wasn't nearly as adept.
At least Johnny was a highlight of the questline.
Wait until Heart of Stone. That quest line does a fantastic job handling a similar situation from the perspective of the abusee. That quest actually allows you to punish the abuser in much more direct manner. If you choose.
Also, male-gaze stuff aside, this particular game itself is not overtly sexist or misogynistic, but its world 110% is. That is not a great feeling so, I get why that is a major turn off. Witcher 1 is definitely a sexist shit-heap though.