MovieChat Forums > Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1982) Discussion > Where the name 'Toby' comes from...

Where the name 'Toby' comes from...

posted 16 years ago by ruminerpianogrl
3 replies | jump to latest

...or Tobias. For those of you that don't know, unlike the Toby in the movie, Toby was supposed to have a sort of oedipus complex for Mrs. Lovett. He obviously suspected Todd of being a murderer and wanted to defend Mrs. Lovett from Todd.

I went to behindthename.com and looked up "Tobias," and this is what came up:

"Tobias is the hero of the apocryphal Book of Tobit in the Old Testament. It relates how Tobias, with the help of the archangel Raphael, is able to drive away a demon who has been plaguing Sarah, who subsequently becomes his wife."

I thought it was rather interesting how there were similarities between the biblical Tobias and Tobias Ragg. Both want to drive away a demon (or Todd) that is plaguing the one they love.

Never misjudge the most faithful
heart of your beloved. Forever yours, forever mine, forever us.

[–] Jillywinkles 16 years ago

Hmm, oedipus complex? Are you sure it wasn't just a his love for a mother-figure? I don't think he wanted her sexually or anything. That's really interesting about the biblical Tobias though. I wonder if it was intentional--although there was a Toby in the old Penny dreadful, so they just kept the name from there I think. But maybe the guy who wrote that based it on the Bible. That actually seems quite likely. Cool!

[–] ruminerpianogrl 16 years ago

Well, think of the song "Not While I'm Around" not only as a sort of "faithful son" kind of song, but also somewhat of a love song. For instance, when Ken Jennings sang it, you can tell he really knew his character and paid attention to details. Not only is he singing his vow to protect Lovett from Todd, but he's also sort of confessing his love in an innocent way (Lovett, of course, probably assumed it was just a love from a son to a mother-like figure). Toby's loves Mrs. Lovett as a mother figure, but there's something else there - an overtone.

It's hard to explain. I posted it on the 2007 Sweeney Todd message board, and someone had the same question you did. The other posters explained it much better than me, though. Here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0408236/board/thread/111650790?d=111749620&p=1#111749620

I'm not really sure if it was intentional. I think it was though, because it seemed too big of a coincidence to not be intentional. Anyways, thanks for replying. :]

Never misjudge the most faithful
heart of your beloved. Forever yours, forever mine, forever us.

[–] mickeyjohnson7792 15 years ago

You can bet your boot's it was intentional. Sweeney is one of Stephen Sondhiem's greatest works. Everything that happens in this show is developed for some reason to support the whole. Every character is flawed. even Anthony deside's the law, being corrupt, is not above breaking.
Some of the characters have been chewed up and spat out by life, and life was changing at that time into the industrial age, or the "machine" if you will. Cold, calculated, emotionless. The metaphor's abound.