Women Rule (But I Feel Sorry for the Guys!)
"Evans. By Jeshu, I think the 'oman is a witch indeed. I like not when a 'oman has a great peard; I spy a great peard under his muffler."
-William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act 4, Scene 2
"Slender. I came younder at Eton to marry Mistress Anne Page, and she's a great lubberly boy. If it had not been i' th' church, I would have swinged him, or he should have swinged me. If I did not think it had been Anne Page, would I might never stir---and 'tis a post-master's boy!"
-William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act 5, Scene 5
I thought that both of these quotes were great! Shakespeare is really making fun of the men here. Evans doesn't realize that Falstaff is actually a man in disguise, even when he sees that the supposed lady has a beard. Slender is also incompetent enough to not realize that who he thinks is Anne Page is actually a stable boy. Throughout this entire play, right up to the end, Shakespeare means to make fun of most of the men. Even Ford, who in the end gets to woo his wife as he said he would as Mr. Brooke, is made a fool of in earlier sections of the plot. All of the men are in some way deceived by women. Thanks to Shakespeare for writing such a witty play that, in general, sticks up for women of the time period! (I just feel sorry for some of the men!)
We've got to give The Bard his due, he was a progressive man for his time. Shakespeare was able to portray women as smart individuals who could think for themselves. However, in Shakespeare's time, women were seen to be beneath men and wily, clever creatures that often sought to lead men astray. The women in the "Merry Wives of Windsor" can be seen in both of these views depending upon the mindset of the reader as well as the time period that the reader lives in.