In “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” the fat knight who pursues Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page is Sir John Falstaff.
Falstaff is one of Shakespeare’s best-known comic characters. He first appears prominently in “Henry IV, Part 1” and “Henry IV, Part 2” as a witty, boastful companion to Prince Hal, the future King Henry V. In “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” he is short of money and decides to court two prosperous married women at the same time.
Falstaff sends Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page nearly identical love letters, assuming that each woman will respond to his advances. Instead, they compare the letters and collaborate on a series of humiliating tricks. He is hidden in a laundry basket and dumped into the river, then disguised as an old woman before being attacked by the jealous Mr. Ford.
Falstaff is sometimes confused with Sir Hugh Evans, Slender or Justice Shallow, but they are separate characters. The knight’s repeated failures in Windsor form the play’s central comic plot.