This was very insightful. Thank you so much for the reply.

I think this is one of the things that come from the book but aren't really that explained here.
In the original fingersmith, the book, the uncle forces Maud to wear gloves at all times. In fact, the scene from the handmaiden where the uncle beats her hands is their version of a scene in the book where Christopher, the uncle there, beats Maud's hands with a similar small silver balls thingy because she has just arrived, is rebellious and doesn't want to wear gloves. He tells her that either the gloves will make her hands soft or the metal balls will. She is forced to use them at all time, even in bed, even when Sue washes her, always, and can only take them off when she handles the books which is usually only during the readings on the evenings (the rest of the time she's mostly her uncle's secretary, and helps him with a bibliography/index of porn books he's obsessed with making). The idea is that the gloves will make her hands soft and keep them clean for when she handles the books.
Both adaptations kind of gloss over that and just have Maud/Hideko wearing gloves all the time, even when handling the books, which I've always found slightly annoying cause even though it looks cool it kind of misses the original purpose of the gloves, which was kind of messed up if you think about it (the purpose of the gloves, I mean).

I'm not sure I buy that. Both Hideko and her aunt wore gloves in every scene (at least it seemed to me - maybe not in the tub and bed). Not only when they were reading for their distinguished audiences (yuck). I think it may have had something to do with the evil uncle beating their hands - but it was never expanded upon.

To avoid direct contact with the books and also to make sure people don't feel weird when they touch Hideko's hands since they're cold.