The Merry Wives of Windsor
"The Merry Wives of Windsor," a five-act comedy by William Shakespeare, was written between 1597 and 1601. It revolves around Falstaff's comedic romantic escapades. Published in a 1602 quarto edition from a reportedly abbreviated text.
Falstaff aims to alleviate his financial troubles by pursuing the wives of affluent merchants. Discovering his identical letters, the wives retaliate by pranking Falstaff during his visits. Assisted by their husbands and friends, the wives orchestrate a final trick in the woods to bring an end to Falstaff's antics.
Major Characters
Sir John Falstaff is a fat knight, devious, opinionated, and dissolute. He plots to seduce two different women in the hope of gaining financially.
Fenton is a young gentleman in love with Page's and Mistress Page's daughter, Anne Page.
Shallow is a country justice with a grudge against Falstaff. He persuades his nephew, Slender, to woo Anne Page.
Mistress Ford is pursued by Falstaff and swears to humiliate him. Frank Ford is her husband.
Sir Hugh Evans is a Welsh parson who joins the scheme against Falstaff.
Doctor Caius is also a suitor of Anne Page.
Mistress Quickly is Doctor Caius' servant. She passes messages between the other characters.
Summary
Act I
Justice Shallow rolls into Windsor with his cousin Slender, all ticked off at Falstaff due to some personal spat. Local parson Hugh Evans tries but fails to calm Shallow, suggesting Slender chase after young Mistress Anne Page. After a trip to the Page house, Shallow faces off with Falstaff, admitting his own mistakes. Later, at the Garter Inn, Falstaff spills the beans about his plan to woo the wives of rich merchants, Page and Ford. But his buddies Nim and Pistol refuse to join in, so he sends letters to the wives through his page. Meanwhile, Nim and Pistol rat out Falstaff's scheme to the husbands.
Act II
The wives compare notes and realize they all got the same love letters from Falstaff. They decide to teach him a lesson, inviting him over to Mistress Ford's when her husband's out bird hunting. Pistol and Nim tip off Ford about Falstaff's intentions. Trust issues make the jealous Ford disguise himself as "Master Brook" to catch his wife. He offers Falstaff money to seduce her, unaware there's already a rendezvous planned. This just fuels Ford's fury toward his wife.
Act III
Parson Evans pals up with Slender, who's got the hots for Page's daughter Anne. But Anne's secretly meeting with Fenton, a guy her dad doesn't approve of. Anne's mom wants her to marry French doctor Caius. When Caius hears about Slender's advances, he challenges Parson Evans to a duel. The Garter Inn's host mixes up their meeting spots, leading to confusion before they patch things up.
Act IV
Falstaff tries his moves at Mistress Ford's, but the husbands return, so the wives hide him in a laundry basket that ends up in the river. They find it hilarious and plan to do it again. Falstaff, despite the mud, falls for another trap as Ford, disguised again, interrupts his flirtation. This time, Falstaff ends up dressed as an old aunt, and Ford delights in kicking him out.
Act V
The wives tell the husbands about the tricks, and they decide to humiliate Falstaff in public. They all cook up a grand finale, inviting Falstaff to Windsor Park as "Herne the Hunter." Kids dressed as fairies join the fun. Anne uses the chaos to elope with Fenton, and her parents scheme to marry her off to their chosen suitors. In the woods, Falstaff gets pinched by fairies, and Anne escapes. Falstaff owns up to his antics, makes amends, and everyone's laughing. Anne marries Fenton, Ford learns to trust his wife, and Caius and Slender realize they picked the wrong targets. The night's escapades end with a good chuckle.
Themes
Key themes of Merry Wives include love and marriage, jealousy and revenge, social class, and wealth. Themes like irony, sexual innuendo, sarcasm, and stereotypical views of classes and nationalities gives the play something closer to a modern-day view than is often found in Shakespeare's plays.
The play is centered on the class prejudices of middle-class England. The lower class is represented by characters such as Bardolph, Nym, and Pistol (Falstaff's followers), and Sir John Falstaff and Master Fenton represent the upper class. Shakespeare uses both Latin and misused English to describe the attitudes and differences of the people of this era. Much humor is derived from the exaggerated accents of Dr. Caius and Sir Hugh Evans.