Mistress Ford: The Planner
First appears: Act 2, Scene 1
Mistress Ford has two problems: Falstaff's unwanted attention and her husband's jealousy. She manages both with considerable skill. Her schemes against Falstaff are elaborate, escalating, and entirely successful.
She is more cautious than Mistress Page: she worries about Ford's jealousy, while Mistress Page simply dismisses male suspicion as something to work around. Their friendship is the play's most reliable relationship.
Her husband Ford disguises himself as 'Master Brook' to spy on her. She knows he is doing this. She uses the knowledge to humiliate Falstaff even more thoroughly while proving her own innocence.
Key Scenes
Famous Quotes
“I shall think the worse of fat men, as long as I have an eye to make difference of men's liking.”
Mistress Ford — Act 2, Scene 1
“Nay, I will consent to act any villany against him, that may not sully the chariness of our honesty.”
Mistress Ford — Act 2, Scene 1
Themes
Other Characters in The Merry Wives of Windsor
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