Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-27404492-20170709002747/@comment-2A02:1811:DC01:8400:4175:7AEE:1929:5FBA-20170714184048

The Devil&#039;s Advocate WP wrote: SomeoneYouUsedToKnow wrote: Though this, nor any of those possibilities I'm quoting, really explains why Jacques is so obsessed with the family's PR. He barely acts like "The people must think Jacques is awesome", he always acts like "The people must think the Schnees are all awesome". It is his name too, though. Anything that reflects badly on the Schnee family ultimately reflects badly on him. That said, really it is a farce to say it is about appearances. His own methods of running the company have sullied the family name, which is why Weiss dissed him by pointing out it wasn't his family name when he suggested she was doing her best to hurt it. Previous attempts to justify Jacque's treatment of Weiss tend to ignore that part.

One thing I think really makes the idea of him using Willow's behavior against her as a way to take her inheritance from her is that it would be very much like the way he has treated Weiss. He pressures, demeans, manipulates, gets physical, and does everything else possible to break her down. When she reacts he uses her reaction against her and tries to act like everything leading up to it didn't really happen or was really her own fault.

Were he doing various little things to control and manipulate Willow to the point that she became broken and then used her brokenness to convince Nicholas that she wasn't stable enough to run the company, it would just illustrate that this is a pattern with him. I would say what Jacques was doing to Weiss this Volume is gaslighting and it would be what I am suggesting he may have done to get the Schnee Dust Company handed to him. It wasn't his surname from birth though. He changed his surname from Gele to Schnee. The way I see it that means either

-He was somehow forced or coerced into changing his name perhaps by Nicholas.

-It offered some significant advantage (power, influence).

-It had some sentimental value to him (from nobody to somebody)

I don't see why he would care in the first possibility beyond the bare minimum. I think we passed the stage where the second is relevant. I think by now Jacques has influence without needing the Schnee name to get somewhere (I said the surname, not the family business). The way he reacts to snides towards the Schnee name and how far he is willing to go certainly edges towards the third option. For a 'greedy' businessman he states himself that he was more concerned about the fact Weiss caused shame to the name rather than the Lien they missed out on.

As for the sullying of the Schnee name. Jacques knows what he does is not viewed favorable hence the need for the worlds best PR team. I see two possible explanations; either he lets the SDC leech off of the Schnee name. Sacrificing what the name stood for in order to improve the SDC and being concerned that if Weiss or somebody else sullies the name too much he won't be able to get away with some of his projects. He basically wants to monopolize the right to sully the name for his own schemes.

Alternatively he cared for Nicholas and tries to honor him like Weiss. Same goal, but different ways to go about it. Weiss finds the 'soul' of the company (quality, trustworthiness,...) more important than higher profits whereas Jacques is the opposite, prepared to sacrifice the 'soul' of the company in order to make the body greater.

As for your idea with Willow. It's certainly plausible. Her being an alcoholic might be a sign of a weak personality that made it easier to exploit her. When someone has such a level of power as she had then it almost always require a weak character for somebody else to throw them off of their thrones so to speak. Willow could be like Richard Cromwell who was the weak son of the more famour or infamous Oliver Cromwell.

Perhaps he wanted to save the Schnee name or the SDC or both from a weak heir.

-TheShadowOfZama