The Merry Wives of Windsor Gender Quotes

Okay. When merry Wives was published in the first folio (1623) edition of Shakespeare's works, it was the only play in which the female characters didn't share the title with their male counterparts. Unless you count The Taming of the Shrew, which sort of implies that it's about a "shrewish" woman and her "shrew taming" husband. In any case, here's the point we want to make: The Merry Wives of Windsor is unique among Shakespeare's plays because it celebrates a couple of clever housewives who manage to turn the tables on men (a jealous husband and a predatory knight). Check out "What's Up With the Title" for more about this.

So, Shakespeare celebrates a couple of strong women who end up on top in this play, right? Well, one of those women has a daughter (Anne Page) who is sought after by three different suitors. As we can see here, a lot of men see Anne as an object—a pretty girl who's about to inherit a bunch of money, which makes her an attractive candidate for marriage. Not too promising here—but just wait until the end. Little Anne is going to turn out to have a mind of her own, just like her mom.

After it's decided that Slender should go after Anne Page for her money, Slender and his pals set off to talk to… Master Page, Anne's father. So, why doesn't Slender talk to Anne about a possible marriage? Because in Shakespeare's day, marriages where business deals between men, that's why. Ah, the good old days.