# Justice Shallow — The Merry Wives of Windsor character guide

> Justice Shallow in The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Shallow, Robert Shallow

**First appearance:** 0002-act-i-scene-i

## Snapshot

A pompous Gloucestershire magistrate who brandishes his coat of arms and his Star Chamber threats with equal futility.

## Who they are

Shallow opens the play in high dudgeon over Falstaff's abuse, threatening the Council and invoking three hundred years of armigero ancestors. His vanity is bottomless and his grievance mostly performative, but his determination to marry his cousin Slender to Anne Page gives the subplot its engine. He represents the county's self-important gentry, and his bluster sets the comic tone for a Windsor where status is loudly claimed and quietly undermined.

## Relationships

### [Anne Page](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_merry_wives_of_windsor_se/characters/anne_page)

_social_

Justice Shallow is a local magistrate and acquaintance of the Page family, with no deep personal bond to Anne.

### [Sir John Falstaff](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_merry_wives_of_windsor_se/characters/sir_john_falstaff)

_rivalry_

Justice Shallow is a pompous local official who clashes with Falstaff over money and respect.

### [Anne Page](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_merry_wives_of_windsor_se/characters/anne_page)

_social_

Justice Shallow is a local magistrate and acquaintance of the Page family, with no deep personal bond to Anne.

### [Anne Page](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_merry_wives_of_windsor_se/characters/anne_page)

_social_

Justice Shallow is a local magistrate and acquaintance of the Page family, with no deep personal bond to Anne.

## In the story

### [Scene I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_merry_wives_of_windsor_se/chapters/act-i-scene-i)

Complains about Falstaff's abuse and discusses marriage plans for Slender.

### [Scene I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_merry_wives_of_windsor_se/chapters/act-ii-scene-i)

Informs Page about the planned duel and reminisces about his sword-fighting days.

### [Scene III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_merry_wives_of_windsor_se/chapters/act-ii-scene-iii)

Intervenes to prevent the duel, recalling his own youthful fighting spirit.

### [Scene I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_merry_wives_of_windsor_se/chapters/act-iii-scene-i)

Arrives with Page and Slender, comments on the parson's dual study of sword and book.

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_merry_wives_of_windsor_se/chapters/act-iii-scene-ii)

Excuses himself from Ford's dinner to pursue the match between Slender and Anne Page.

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_merry_wives_of_windsor_se/chapters/act-v-scene-ii)

Accompanies Page and Slender, commenting on the signal and the time.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_merry_wives_of_windsor_se/characters/justice_shallow
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_merry_wives_of_windsor_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_merry_wives_of_windsor_se/characters