Merry Wives of Windsor Act 4 – “We'll leave a proof, by that which we will do, Wives may be merry, and yet honest too…”

Merry Wives of Windsor Act 4 – “We'll leave a proof, by that which we will do, Wives may be merry, and yet honest too…”

The scheming of the merry wives of Windsor starts to bear fruit as Mistress Page (who enters with Mistress Quickly) checks whether Falstaff has gone to Mistress Ford’s house for the second time. Then a weird but probably insightful scene happens where Evan’s the schoolteacher enters, announcing that school has been cancelled and proceeds to quiz young William Page on his Latin conjugations and declensions. Of course, Mistress Quickly interprets all this as sexual innuendo which is made worse by Evans’ Welsh pronunciation of Latin words. Is this the closest insight we get of Shakespeare’s schooling perhaps at Grammar school in Stratford-upon-Avon?

Take Two. Falstaff seems enthusiastic when he arrives at Mistress Ford’s house for the second time. It seems like Falstaff will finally get his way. But when Mistress Page arrives, Falstaff is hidden in the chamber because of the approach of Ford in a rage to find his wife's lover. Falstaff hides but then reveals himself and flatly refuses to hide again in the laundry basket. Instead it is suggested that Falstaff disguise himself as Mistress Ford’s maid's aunt who is large like Falstaff. Unfortunately for Falstaff, Ford hates the old woman. Ford enters and demands that the laundry basket is searched for Falstaff. No-one is found. Page and Shallow reprimand Ford for his distrust of his wife and then Mistress Page enters with Falstaff in disguise. Ford gets angry at the old woman (Falstaff in disguise) who he had banned from his house because he claims that she is a witch and Ford beats the old woman (Falstaff in a dress) and chases him away. The humor is pure slapstick and is punctuated at the end when Evans points out to Ford that the old woman had a thick beard and Ford and others chase after Falstaff like the Keystone Cops pursuing a thief.

Mistress Ford and Mistress Page then reveal more about their plan. They see that on a third attempt they can publicly humiliate Falstaff one more time.

Back at the Garter Inn, the plot is momentarily diverted when Bardolph tricks The Host into loaning three of his horses to three ‘mysterious’ German guests on their way to the Duke’s court.

We fly across the other side of the stage to Ford's house where Mistress Ford and Mistress Page reveal Falstaff’s letter and their machinations against Falstaff and his advances. Ford asks his wife to forgive him for his jealousy.

“Pardon me, wife. Henceforth do what thou wilt;

I rather will suspect the sun with cold

Than thee with wantonness: now doth thy honour stand

In him that was of late an heretic,

As firm as faith.”

As this thread of the plot is tied, it is decided that they will all join forces to humiliate Falstaff one more final time. Mistress Page comes up with a plan when she recalls:

“There is an old tale goes that Herne the hunter,

Sometime a keeper here in Windsor forest,

Doth all the winter-time, at still midnight,

Walk round about an oak, with great ragg'd horns;

And there he blasts the tree and takes the cattle

And makes milch-kine yield blood and shakes a chain

In a most hideous and dreadful manner:

You have heard of such a spirit, and well you know

The superstitious idle-headed eld

Received and did deliver to our age

This tale of Herne the hunter for a truth.”

Mistress Ford suggests that they get Falstaff to come to an area in the forest dressed as Herne and that they then get the children to disguise themselves as elves and goblins and then they can attack and question Falstaff as spirits and get him to reveal all his lies, deceptions and attempted cuckolding so that all of Windsor can deride Falstaff. Their husbands love the plan and see that they can also get Slender to elope with Anne Page during the confusion.  Ford goes off to diguise himself as Brooke to see if Falstaff will meet Mistress Ford one more time. It then occurs to Mistress Page that in the chaos she can get Caius to elope with Anne.

Back at the Garter Inn, Simple wants to see Falstaff who The Host thinks is seeing a fat old lady but Falstaff (having already changed) says that the witch has gone. Mistress Quickly enters and calls Falstaff aside giving him a message from Mistress Ford that she will meet him in secret. At the same time Fenton reveals to The Host that he loves Anne Page but that he has received a letter about the plans to trick Falstaff. This is not the concern of Fenton but what concerns him is that during the confusion, Anne has been told by her father that she must elope with Slender and has been told by her mother that at the same chaotic moment she must elope with Caius. Fenton then reveals that Anne means to marry him and suggests to The Host:

“… you'll procure the vicar

To stay for me at church 'twixt twelve and one,

And, in the lawful name of marrying,

To give our hearts united ceremony.”

The stage is set for Falstaff to fall once more and for another page to be turned in the Page saga.