The Tribute to Murdoch Swan that No One asked for
*some rather vague references to the latest manga chapters, but otherwise no spoilers*
If anyone needs a reminder as to who Murdoch Swan is, he is the interviewer who somehow manages to look more haggard than the two gentlemen beside him who are, respectively, 12 and 19 years older. In the one chapter or 20 minutes (or 15?) he appears, he repeatedly insults Yor and makes Anya cry. That, and he also enrages Twilight to the point of physical violence, and would have been quite dead if not for the noble sacrifice of a hardwood coffee table and a mosquito. To put simply, he is a nasty scumbag.
However, despite his brief appearance, he gets a relatively well-fleshed out backstory and is an effective plot device that 1) sheds light on the social setting in both Eden and Ostanian society and, 2) advances the plot by setting several important character and relationship developments in motion.
We infer from Twilight's thoughts and Swan's own words that Swan's charmed life (wife, child, prestigious career in Eden that was smoothly paved by nepotism) had recently hit a rough patch when his wife, presumably sick of his behaviour, divorced him and he was denied custody of their child.
Rather than humbly reflect on the interpersonal missteps that led to such a resolution or reminisce about happier family times, Swan instead entitles himself to a self-appointed mission to prod and provoke the uglier sides of people to shatter their happy family image and prove they are as miserable as he is.
Thing is, despite his pettiness, he is actually quite smart with how he goes about it. He knows his father still has great influence over the academy despite no longer being in active service, and that gives him power over both his fellow interviewers and his interviewees. His questions and taunting are chosen with precision. He knows what to ask and say to create tension between people and to attack their weak points. His interviewees can only either defend themselves on the spot and appear rude or disharmonious, or suck it up during the interview and resent one another after that. Of course, he only does this to the families who don't have the political or social clout to threaten him.
That Eden has him in the faculty already raises a red flag about the culture and environment in Eden. The irony of Swan being an assessor of candidates for Eden's hoity-toity standards is that he is himself a poor role model. A later chapter reveals that there are many badly behaved students from his Kline Hall. We also see that it is not just Swan who lacks regard for the children he is tasked to educate; we see that some of Anya's teachers are neither wise nor enlightened. In the latest hostage situation, we also see that Eden’s priorities are incredibly messed up. Eden is, first and foremost, about connections, prestige and networking rather than education.
Twilight hit the nail on the head when he called Eden a school that made light of children's feelings and told Anya she would probably not want to go to this school anyway. Too bad it's his mission.
Swan’s behaviour also overtly reflects the attitude of Ostanian society, namely in the way it treats women. His chauvinism is obvious, but not isolated - it is implicit in the way Walter Evans directs the cooking question to Yor, in the way Henderson credits Loid Forger for the elegance the entire family exhibits, in the way that Swan directs all his attacks at Anya and especially Yor rather than at Loid (and I highly doubt it was entirely because Loid appeared flawless).
In earlier and subsequent chapters, we see more gender inequality in Ostania at work: how positions of higher prestige and leadership are mostly, if not entirely, occupied by men, how women are socially expected to aspire to conventional marriage by a certain age and how older unmarried women are viewed upon with suspicion. To me, I also see a little of it in the way Yor is quick to put herself down and how she chooses to elevate Yuri academically instead of investing in herself in any manner.
The way I see it, despite Twilight initially hoping not to offend Swan, the Forgers were already in trouble with him: the more Swan perceived Loid and Yor as a loving couple and the Forgers a perfect happy family, the more he wanted to tear them apart.
But it was his nastiness that strengthened the Forger family and moved the plot along, because in the course of his appearance, he managed to:
a) Trigger Anya’s protectiveness over her parents and strengthen her resolve to go to school for Operation Strix
b) Trigger Twilight’s protectiveness over Yor and Anya. Feeling awful over how the abuse they suffered is the least he (Twilight) could do because it would have been real scummy of him to remain unmoved at the unfair treatment of the two innocent civilians (or so he thinks) he got involved with his mission. The interview also showcases Twilight's liberal views (yes, it was most certainly Twilight, not Loid, who attended this interview) - that he does not believe in traditional gender roles and is accepting of individual strengths and weaknesses, that children deserve consideration and respect, and that wellbeing is not physical but mental and emotional as well.
c) Indirectly reawaken Henderson’s pride over his calling as an educator, leading to his impulsive punch and quite importantly, resulting in him becoming Anya's homeroom teacher (given the lack of investment from her other teachers, this is likely a very good thing.)
d) Trigger Yor’s protectiveness and motherly instincts towards Anya and made Anya cherish having a mother.
To me, the impact of this is a very big one. After all, Chapter 1 is about the start of Twilight and Anya's relationship. Chapter 2 is about the start of Twilight and Yor's relationship. Chapter 3 is about the Forgers finding a bit of their footing together. Even up to Chapter 5, Yor at times still appears uncertain around Anya.
In Chapter 7, Yor is motivated to try to be a better mother to Anya, and Anya sees her mother’s vulnerable side. From this point onwards, Yor and Anya's mother-daughter relationship takes off and they are subsequently seen spending a lot of time together. We also see that Anya might love Papa more, but she never doubts Mama's love.
e) Indirectly cause the events in Chapter 7, which leads to many significant events and long-lasting developments in SxF:
i) Yor and Anya's combat training.
ii) Anya punching Damian on Orientation Day. Henderson, as homeroom teacher, reduces three Tonitrus bolts to one at his discretion.
iii) Becky becoming Anya's best friend.
iv) Damian subsequently developing a crush on Anya.
v) Yor's cooking endeavours
See how important this scum is to the story?
