The second act takes
us back to the Garter. Dame Quickly arrives with a message from Mrs.
Ford. Falstaff is on fire at once, and agrees to pay her a visit between
the hours of two and three. Ford now arrives, calling himself Master
Brook, and paves his way with a present of wine and money. He tells
Falstaff of his hopeless passion for a haughty dame of Windsor, Mrs.
Alice Ford, begging the irresistible knight to woo the lady, so that,
once her pride is broken, he too may have a chance of winning her
favour. Falstaff gladly agrees, and horrifies the unlucky Ford by
confiding the news to him that he already has an assignation with the
lady fixed for that very afternoon. The second scene is laid in a room
in Ford's house. The merry wives are assembled, and soon Falstaff is
descried approaching. Mrs. Ford entertains him for a few minutes, and
then, according to their arrangement, Dame Quickly runs in to say that
Mrs. Page is at the door. Falstaff hastily hides himself behind a large
screen, but the jest changes to earnest when Mrs. Page herself rushes in
to announce that Ford, mad with jealousy and rage, has raised the whole
household and is really coming to look for his wife's lover. The women
quickly slip Falstaff into a huge basket and cover him with dirty linen,
while Nannetta and Fenton who have been indulging in another stolen
interview slip behind the screen.
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