William Shakespeare - play - 1597 - p. 202    

Set at England’s Windsor Castle, The Merry Wives of Windsor features Falstaff, a famously scheming but good-humored character from two of Shakespeare’s other plays, Henry IV Parts I and 2. The comedy revolves around Falstaff’s gold-digging, simultaneous courtships of Mistresses Ford and Page (both of whom are married), respectively, and a side plot that features competition among other suitors seeking the hands of the mistresses’ daughters. When one challenges another to a duel that is foiled by a third party’s interference, various pranks and revenge plots ensue--and both of the sought-after women decide to string Falstaff along after having discovered that the letters expressing his putative love for them are identical. The madcap larks and trickery continue throughout and include a deception that fools one unwitting suitor into a same-sex marriage.

Key elements: Europe, homosexuality, infidelity, marriage