The Merry Wives of Windsor

Characters

• Mistress Ford
• married to Ford
• friend of Mistress Page
• decides to ruin Falstaff when she and Mistress Page receive a seductive letter from him
• hopes to prove to her husband that she is entirely faithful
• Mistress Page
• married to Page
• friend of Mistress Ford
• favors Caius as husband for her daughter, Anne Page, even though her husband favors Slender and Anne favors neither
• Falstaff
• knight, but also scoundrel and occasional thief
• thinks he can get away with seducing married women for their husband's cash
• launches a plan to seduce Mistress Page and Mistress Ford
• Ford
• husband of Mistress Ford
• jealous of his wife
• when he learns the Falstaff is seducing his wife, he puts on a disguise, calls himself Brooke, and goes to the Garter Inn to find out about Falstaff's plans and his wife's responses
• Page
• husband of Mistress Page
• disagrees with his wife about who should marry their daughter Anne
• Sir Hugh Evans
• local clergyman
• suffers humiliation because of Welsh accent
• Caius
• local doctor
• Mistress Quickly's master
• suffers humiliation because of his French accent and broken English
• hopes to marry Anne Page but she does not like him
• Anne Page
• sought for marriage by Caius, Slender and various others
• chooses Fenton and tricks her parents by eloping with him
• defends her own choice and returns to show up her parents who had been too busy debating their own preferences to listen to her
• Fenton
• suitor for Anne Page's hand
• however, Page denies him because he is high-born but poor
• nonetheless, Fenton and Anne Page marry in the end
• Slender
• suitor for Anne Page's hand
• urged on by Shallow, but only speaks nonsense to Anne
• favored by Page as a good match for his daughter
• Shallow
• figure of the law
• foolish character of misplaced authority
• urges Slender to seduce Anne Page
• Mistress Quickly
• Caius's servant
• acts as role of messenger but often misunderstands other people's conversations as sexually charged
• Bardolph
• one of Falstaff's man
• takes over as bartender of Garter Inn in order to pay for Falstaff's entourage's room and board
• Nim
• one of Falstaff's men
• refuses to deliver Falstaff's letters to Mistress Page and Mistress Ford
• he and Pistol decide to let the husbands know of Falstaff's scheme
• Pistol
• one of Falstaff's men
• refuses to deliver Falstaff's letters to Mistress Page and Mistress Ford
• Host
• host of the Garter Inn
• makes fun of Evans and Caius's accents and broken English
• tricked by Caius and Evans into losing three of his horses
• William Page
• Page's son
• meets Evans who gives him an impromptu Latin lesson which Mistress Quickly mishears as sexual innuendo
• Simple
• Slender's servant

Plot summary:

• Justice Shallow, Slender and Sir Hugh Evans are discussing Shallow's anger at Falstaff
• They arrive at Master Page's door where Shallow confronts Falstaff
• Slender tries unsuccessfully to converse with Anne Page
• Falstaff reveals his plan to seduce Mistresses Page and Ford, who both have control over their husband's money. He sends Pistol and Nim to deliver letters to the women but instead they plan to tell Page and Ford of Falstaff's plans
• Mistress Quickly tells Slender's servant, Simple, that she will speak positively of Slender to Anne. Her master, Dr. Caius, enters and encounters Simple. Upon hearing about his errand, he becomes angry and writes a letter to Evans blaming him for encouraging Slender's affections for Anne. He challenges Evans to a duel and also threatens Quickly, who had promised him that she would encourage Anne to look favorably on him.
• Fenton enters later and wants to know if Quickly has related his affections to Anne.
• Mistress Page and Mistress Ford both receive Falstaff's letter and decide to lead Falstaff on until he is ruined and humiliated. 
• Pistol and Nim, however, reveal Falstaff's pans to Ford and Page. Page believes in the fidelity of his wife, but Ford is convinced his wife will dishonor him.
• Shallow, the Host of the Garter Inn and Page go watch the fight between Caius and Evans. 
• In the meantime, Ford makes a deal with the Host to be introduced to Falstaff in disguise so he can find out Falstaff's plans.
• Quickly tells Falstaff that Mistress Ford will be expecting a visit from him the next morning. 
• Under the disguise of someone named Brooke, Ford tells Falstaff that he's in love with Mistress Ford, but that she has always rebuffed his advance. He asks Falstaff to seduce Mistress Ford and Falstaff reveals his date with her the next morning. Once alone, Ford curses his wife for preparing to cheat on him.
• Caius and Evans meet for the duel but instead, they both speak to each other of their suspicion that the Host has plotted to make them look like fools because of their respective French and Welsh accents. They both plot revenge against the Host. 
• Page discusses Anne's marriage options, saying that he favors Slender even though his wife prefers Caius. He entirely dismisses Fenton. 
• Ford invites the men back to his house to catch Falstaff. Falstaff in the meantime has arrived at Ford's house but he hides when Mistress Page is announced. Mistress Page speaks loudly of Ford's imminent arrival and Falstaff comes out to ask them to help him flee. Mistresses Page and Ford hide him in a laundry basket. Ford is unable to find Falstaff and both Mistresses are glad to have fooled Falstaff and Ford, and they decide to fool Falstaff further in order to help Ford get over his jealousy.
• Fenton tells Anne that he loves her for more than her money even though that was his initial intention. 
• Falstaff arrives at the Garter Inn, soaked after having been thrown into the river with the laundry. Quickly gives him a second invitation from Mistress Ford. He informs Ford disguised as Brooke of his plan to visit Mistress Ford again that night.
• Falstaff returns to Mistress Ford's house and Mistress Page enters again. Falstaff hides once more just as Mistress Page warns Mistress Ford of her husband's approach. Mistress Ford suggests Falstaff wear the clothes of her servant's fat aunt to escape in disguise. However, Ford beats Falstaff nonetheless because he detests that fat aunt. 
• Mistresses Ford and Page are pleased with their schemes and inform their husbands of the truth. Ford apologizes to his wife for his jealousy and they decide to humiliate Falstaff publicly. Mistress Ford will invite Falstaff to meet her in an allegedly haunted wood where they'll dress their children up as ghosts and monsters to terrify and embarrass Falstaff.
• Fenton speaks to the Host of a letter he has received from Anne, which says that her parents want to use the chaos of the disguised children in the haunted wood as an opportunity for her suitors to elope with her. Her mother wants her to run off with Caius whereas her father wants her to run off with Slender. Each instructs her to wear a specific outfit so each suitor may find her. But she intends to deceive them both. Fenton asks the Host to help him find a vicar who will marry them that night.
• Meanwhile, Caius and Evans take revenge on the Host by stealing three of his horses. The Host believes he had lent the horses to three German lords on their way to the royal court.
• Falstaff arrives in the haunted woods. Ford and Page with their friends have arrived to watch, and Mistresses Ford and Page approach Falstaff. They hear a noise and run away, leaving Falstaff surrounded by disguised elves and ghouls. Falstaff is terrified, and Mistress Quickly, playing the fairy queen, says they should try to burn the human. The children encircle Falstaff and pinch him.
• The children finally depart and Page and Ford enter. Falstaff realizes he has been tricked and humiliated. Evans tells Falstaff that he should give up his game and tells Ford that he should trust his wife.
• Slender arrives upset - in the confusion, he had eloped with a young boy in Anne's outfit. The same happens to Caius. Anne herself enters with Fenton and Fenton scolds the Pages for wanting to put Anne through a loveless marriage. 
• Page and his wife realize their mistake and Falstaff is pleased that their plan to humiliate him as partially backfired because of Anne and Fenton's marriage. They adjourn to celebrate the marriage with Falstaff as a guest.