The Merry Wives of Windsor Summary

 

The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare is a five-act play about Falstaff, a man from out of town, who is now in Windsor. It is a comedy play by William Shakespeare, published in 1602. It tells the story of Sir John Falstaff, who tries to charm two married women to get their husbands’ money. However, the two clever wives, Mistress Ford and Mistress Page, see through his tricks and play funny pranks on him instead. The play is full of humor and mischief, showing themes of love, jealousy, and human foolishness. It also gives a lighthearted look at life in Elizabethan England.

Summary

ACT 1

Scene 1

The play opens in Windsor with Justice Robert Shallow, his nephew Abraham Slender, and the Welsh parson Sir Hugh Evans. Shallow is furious with the notorious knight Sir John Falstaff, accusing him of beating his men, killing his deer, and breaking into his lodge. He threatens to take the matter to the Star Chamber, a high court.

The conversation quickly devolves into comical bragging about Shallow's lineage and coat of arms, which features "a dozen white luces" (pikes). Sir Hugh's accent leads him to mishear "luces" as "louses," creating a pun. Shallow and Slender boast about their gentlemanly status.

Sir Hugh Evans tries to calm Shallow and proposes a solution to the conflict: a marriage between the timid Slender and Anne Page, the attractive and wealthy daughter of Master Page. He reveals that Anne has an inheritance of seven hundred pounds. Shallow is intrigued and decides they should go to Master Page's house to discuss it, even though Falstaff is also there.

They are met by Master Page, who thanks Shallow for a gift of venison. Their small talk is interrupted by the arrival of the bombastic Falstaff, accompanied by his disreputable followers: Bardolph, Nym, and Pistol. Shallow immediately confronts him. Falstaff dismissively admits to the offenses and mocks Shallow's threats, claiming the King would laugh at him.

The scene becomes chaotic as Slender also accuses Falstaff's men of picking his purse. Insults fly between the groups ("Banbury cheese!", "Mephostophilus!"). Evans proposes that he, Page, and the Host of the Garter Inn act as umpires to settle the disputes. As they agree to discuss it over dinner, Anne Page enters with wine, and Slender is instantly smitten. Mistress Ford and Mistress Page also arrive.

After the others go inside, Slender remains with Shallow and Evans. They try to explain the marriage proposal to the dim-witted Slender, who can only agree incoherently, saying he will marry her "freely dissolved, and dissolutely" (which Evans "corrects" to "resolutely"). When Anne returns to summon him to dinner, Slender makes a series of awkward and cowardly excuses, claiming he is not hungry and talking about being beaten at fencing and his fear of bears.

Scene 2

Sir Hugh Evans sends his servant, Simple, to the house of the French Doctor Caius with a letter for Mistress Quickly, Caius's housekeeper. The letter asks her to advocate for Slender's suit to Anne Page.

Scene 3

At the Garter Inn, Falstaff complains to the Host about his financial troubles. He must dismiss his followers, and the Host agrees to take on Bardolph as a tapster. After Bardolph, Nym, and Pistol exit, Falstaff reveals his new plan: to seduce two wealthy married women, Mistress Ford and Mistress Page, and gain access to their husbands' wealth. He believes both women have given him encouraging looks.

He has written identical love letters to each of them. When he orders Pistol and Nym to deliver them, they refuse, claiming it is beneath their honor to be "panders" (pimps). Enraged, Falstaff dismisses them and gives the letters to his page, Robin. Alone, Pistol and Nym, seeking revenge for being cast off, decide to betray Falstaff's plans to the husbands, Ford and Page.

Scene 4

Simple arrives at Doctor Caius's house and gives Evans's letter to Mistress Quickly. She is a gossip who enjoys meddling in everyone's affairs. She reveals that not only is Evans promoting Slender, and Caius himself is in love with Anne Page, but a young gentleman, Master Fenton, is also a suitor. She personally favors Fenton.

The hot-tempered Doctor Caius arrives and discovers Simple hiding in a closet. He immediately assumes he is a thief or a lover of Mistress Quickly's and flies into a rage, demanding his sword to attack the "jackanape." Mistress Quickly explains Simple's errand, which only infuriates Caius further, as it is from his rival, Evans. He writes a challenge to Evans, vowing to fight him and "cut all his two stones" (testicles).

After Caius storms out, Fenton arrives. He bribes Mistress Quickly to put in a good word for him with Anne Page. After he leaves, Quickly confirms that while Anne likes Fenton, her parents have other plans: her father prefers Slender, and her mother is set on Doctor Caius.

ACT 2

Scene 1

Mistress Page enters reading Falstaff's love letter. She is amused and disgusted by the audacity of the old, fat knight. Mistress Ford enters, equally shocked, and reveals she has received an identical letter. They are outraged that he thinks they are so easily seduced and vow revenge.

They quickly devise a plan: they will lead Falstaff on, pretending to be interested, and then humiliate him. Mistress Page suggests they arrange a meeting and have him pawn his horses to the Host of the Garter for money.

Meanwhile, Ford and Page enter with Pistol and Nym. The two disgruntled followers warn the husbands about Falstaff's intentions. Pistol poetically warns Ford of horns (cuckoldry), and Nym ominously tells Page that Falstaff loves his wife. Page dismisses the claims, secure in his wife's virtue, but Ford is instantly consumed by jealousy.

The wives return and ask the Host to send Mistress Quickly as a messenger to Falstaff. Ford, now suspicious, decides to investigate further. He devises a disguise to meet Falstaff and uncover the truth.

Scene 2

At the Garter Inn, Falstaff is berating Pistol for his refusal to help. Mistress Quickly arrives with replies from the wives. She tells Falstaff that Mistress Ford is interested and will be alone while her jealous husband is away between 10 and 11 the next morning. She also says Mistress Page wants to borrow Falstaff's page, Robin, to act as a go-between.

Falstaff is delighted, seeing his plan coming together. After Quickly leaves, he boasts of his impending success. His revelry is interrupted by the arrival of "Master Brook" (Ford in disguise). Brook claims to be in love with Mistress Ford but unable to win her favor due to her virtuous reputation. He offers to pay Falstaff to seduce her, theorizing that if her honor is compromised, she might then be vulnerable to his own advances.

The greedy Falstaff happily agrees, not knowing he is being tricked. He boastfully tells "Brook" that he already has an appointment with Mistress Ford for the very next morning and promises that "Brook" will soon "enjoy Ford's wife." After Falstaff exits, Ford soliloquizes in a fury, convinced of his wife's infidelity and vowing revenge.

Scene 3

A comical scene unfolds as the hot-headed Doctor Caius waits in a field for his duel with Evans. He is accompanied by his nervous servant, Rugby. The Host, Shallow, Page, and Slender arrive, not to watch the duel but to prevent it. The Host has deliberately given both men the wrong meeting places to keep them apart. He then cleverly persuades the two would-be combatants to forgive each other, and they unite in their anger against the Host for making fools of them.

ACT 3

Scene 1

Evans waits for Caius in a field near Windsor, nervously singing to himself. When Page, Shallow, and Slender arrive to stop the duel, the Host brings in Caius. The two men initially want to fight, but the Host and the others manage to calm them. Upon realizing the Host has tricked them both, Evans and Caius immediately bond over their shared humiliation and swear revenge against him.

Scene 2

Ford, his jealousy festering, meets Mistress Page and notices she has Falstaff's page, Robin, with her. This confirms his suspicions in his mind. He meets with Page, Shallow, Evans, Caius, and the Host, and invites them all to his house for dinner, promising to show them a "monster." He is planning to catch Falstaff and his wife together.

Scene 3

At Ford's house, the two wives set their trap. They have a large laundry basket (a "buck-basket") ready. Mistress Ford tells her servants to be prepared to carry it to the laundress at Datchet Mead upon her command.

Falstaff arrives and begins his ludicrous wooing of Mistress Ford, complimenting her extravagantly. On cue, Mistress Page bursts in, warning that Master Ford is approaching with a mob to search the house for Falstaff. The women panic and, despite Falstaff's large size, convince him to hide in the buck-basket. They pile foul, smelly laundry on top of him.

Ford arrives with Page, Caius, and Evans. He tears the house apart searching for the knight, even as the others tell him he is a jealous fool. He has the servants bring in the buck-basket, intending to search it, but his wife protests that it is only dirty laundry. Convinced Falstaff must be somewhere else, Ford orders the basket to be taken away. The servants carry the heavy, complaining Falstaff out.

The women are thrilled with their success. They gleefully imagine Falstaff being thrown into the muddy ditch with the laundry. When the searching men return empty-handed, a humiliated Ford is forced to apologize. The Pages invite everyone to go bird-hunting the next morning.

Scene 4

Fenton and Anne Page discuss their love. Fenton admits that her father initially disliked him because of his high birth and past wildness (he was a companion of Prince Hal), but he swears his love for her is now genuine. Anne's other suitors arrive with Mistress Quickly. Slender is his usual incoherent self, and Shallow tries to boast on his behalf. When Master Page enters, he enthusiastically promotes Slender, while Mistress Page favors Doctor Caius. Page dismisses Fenton outright.

After everyone leaves, Mistress Quickly assures Fenton that Anne loves him and promises to help him. She also has another errand: to speak with Falstaff on behalf of the merry wives.

Scene 5

A sore and damp Falstaff recovers at the Garter Inn, complaining bitterly about his experience in the basket. Mistress Quickly arrives with a message from Mistress Ford: she apologizes and asks Falstaff to visit her again the next morning between 8 and 9, while her husband is out bird-hatching.

"Master Brook" (Ford) arrives. Falstaff tells him the whole story of his escape in the basket, exaggerating his suffering. He then boasts that he has another appointment with Mistress Ford for the next day. Ford, seething with rage, agrees to return later to hear how it went. Alone, he vows to be "horn-mad" and finally catch Falstaff.

ACT 4

Scene 1

Evans is giving a Latin lesson to William Page, Mistress Page's young son. The lesson is constantly interrupted by the ignorant and bawdy misinterpretations of Mistress Quickly, providing comic relief.

Scene 2

Falstaff is again at Ford's house, wooing Mistress Ford. Mistress Page again bursts in with news that Ford is on his way, even more furious than before. This time, they cannot use the basket. After several failed ideas, they decide to disguise Falstaff as the "fat woman of Brentford," an old fortuneteller whom Ford hates and has forbidden from the house.

They dress him in a gown and headgear. Ford enters and searches the house. He orders the buck-basket to be emptied again, finding nothing. When he hears the "old woman" is upstairs, he flies into a rage, beats Falstaff (still in disguise), and drives "her" out of the house, believing her to be a witch.

The wives are delighted. They decide to tell their husbands everything to finally cure Ford of his jealousy and publicly shame Falstaff. They plan one final, grand humiliation.

Scene 3

The Host is complaining that some German guests have borrowed his horses and haven't returned them.

Scene 4

The Fords and Pages are reconciled. Ford apologizes for his jealousy. The group, now including Evans, plans the final trick. They will use a local legend of Herne the Hunter, a ghost who haunts an oak tree in Windsor Forest at midnight. They will have Falstaff meet Mistress Ford there.

Their children and others will be disguised as fairies and sprites. They will surround Falstaff, pinch him, burn him with candles, and demand to know why he profanes their sacred ring. This will terrify and punish him thoroughly.

Unbeknownst to the others, each parent has a secret plan for Anne:

• Page wants Slender to sneak away with Anne (dressed in white) and marry her.
• Mistress Page wants Doctor Caius to sneak away with Anne (dressed in green) and marry her.
• Neither knows that Anne and Fenton have their own plan with the Host's help.

Scene 5

Simple is at the Garter Inn looking for Falstaff to ask about the fortuneteller. The Host is furious to learn that the Germans he lent his horses to were actually con artists who have stolen them. Evans and Caius separately arrive to warn the Host about the thieves, adding to his distress. Falstaff meets with Mistress Quickly, who gives him a letter with the details for the meeting at Herne's Oak.

ACT 5

Scene 1

Falstaff meets with "Master Brook" and tells him to be at Herne's Oak at midnight to finally see his "reward." He recounts being beaten while disguised as the old woman, further stoking Ford's anger and anticipation.

Scene 2

Page, Shallow, and Slender prepare to hide in the forest. Page reminds Slender of his plan to identify Anne by her white clothes and run away with her.

Scene 3

The wives and Doctor Caius make their final preparations. Mistress Page tells Caius to look for Anne in green and take her away to be married.

Scene 4

The climax occurs at Herne's Oak in Windsor Forest at midnight. Falstaff, dressed with antlers, meets Mistress Ford. As he begins to woo her, Mistress Page runs in, warning that witches are coming. Sir Hugh Evans, disguised as a satyr, leads a group of children dressed as fairies (including William Page). They surround Falstaff, pinching, burning, and scolding him for his lechery.

While this is happening, the elopements are attempted:

• Slender finds a fairy in white, takes its hand, and runs off.
• Doctor Caius finds a fairy in green, takes its hand, and runs off.

A humiliated and frightened Falstaff begs for mercy. The torments cease, and the Fords and Pages reveal themselves. They explain the entire plot. Falstaff is forced to admit he has been made a fool of. Ford is finally cured of his jealousy, and he and Page forgive Falstaff, inviting him to laugh at himself with them.

The subplot resolves as the eloping parties return. Slender reveals he ran off with a young boy in white, not Anne. Doctor Caius reveals he ran off with a young boy in green, not Anne. Finally, Fenton and Anne enter, now married. They explain that they outwitted everyone. They knew about the parents' color-coded plans and used them as a decoy. Fenton speaks eloquently of his true love for Anne, winning a grudging acceptance from her parents. The play ends with everyone reconciling and going home to laugh about the night's events.