The Merry Wives of Windsor · Chapter
Scene I explained
Falstaff, impatient with Mistress Quickly's prattling, sends her away and then meets with Master Ford disguised as Brook.
What happens
Falstaff, impatient with Mistress Quickly's prattling, sends her away and then meets with Master Ford disguised as Brook. He recounts his recent humiliation at the hands of Ford, who beat him while he was disguised as a woman, and vows revenge by delivering Mistress Ford into Brook's hands that night at Herne's oak.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Falling action.
- Setup
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This scene represents the dramatic climax because it forces Anne Page into a direct emotional and psychologica…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Deception and Disguise
Falstaff disguises himself as a woman to escape Ford, and Ford himself is disguised as Brook, highlighting the pervasive use of disguise in the play.
- Jealousy and Trust
Ford's jealousy is described as a 'mad devil' that drives him to beat Falstaff, and Falstaff's plot to deliver Mistress Ford to Brook plays on this jealousy.
Characters to notice
- Sir John Falstaff
Impatient with Mistress Quickly, recounts his beating by Ford while disguised as a woman, and plots revenge.
- Mistress Quickly
Briefly appears, offering to provide a chain and horns, before being dismissed by Falstaff.
- Master Ford
Disguised as Brook, he questions Falstaff about the previous day's meeting and is told of the plan for midnight at Herne's oak.
Key passages
“I went to her, Master Brook, as you see, like a poor old man; but I came from her, Master Brook, like a poor old woman.”
I went to her as an old man, but I left disguised as an old woman.
Falstaff describes his escape from Ford's house in disguise.
“That same knave Ford, her husband, hath the finest mad devil of jealousy in him, Master Brook, that ever governed frenzy.”
That rascal Ford, her husband, has the most insane jealousy that ever controlled a madman.
Falstaff characterizes Ford's jealousy as extreme and frenzied.
