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See the hell of having a false woman: my bed shall be abused, my coffers ransacked, my reputation gnawn at. And I shall not only receive this villainous wrong but stand under the adoption of abominable terms, and by him that does me this wrong. Terms, names! “Amaimon” sounds well, “Lucifer” well, “Barbason” well; yet they are devils’ additions, the names of fiend. But “Cuckold,” “Wittoll,” “Cuckold”! The devil himself hath not such a name. (2.2.298–307)
When Ford learns that Falstaff intends to seduce his wife, he disguises himself as “Master Brook” and goes to speak with the knight. His idea is to pay Falstaff to sleep with his wife, an arrangement that will allow him to catch Mistress Ford in the act of adultery and thereby prove his suspicion that she is inherently untrustworthy. After his conversation with the boastful and lecherous Falstaff, Ford’s jealousy is wildly inflamed, and he utters these words. He’s certain that he will become a cuckold, and even as he curses the man who will make him one, he laments his inevitable victimhood.
Pardon me, wife. Henceforth do what thou wilt.
I rather will suspect the sun with cold
Than thee with wantonness. Now doth thy honor stand,
In him that was of late an heretic,
As firm as faith. (4.4.6–11)
After Mistresses Ford and Page realize how upset Ford has become about his wife’s suspected liaisons with Falstaff, the women decide to teach him a lesson about trust. Thus, they expand their plan for humiliating Falstaff so they may also aggravate Ford’s misplaced jealousy. But once they feel like he’s suffered enough to have learned his lesson, they inform both him and Master Page about their schemes to punish the lustful knight. To his credit, Ford is quick to repent and pledge an unwavering faith in his wife. It’s notable that this scene of reconciliation and reform is one of the rare moments in the play where middle-class characters speak in verse rather than prose.
To Master Brook you yet shall hold your word,
For he tonight shall lie with Mistress Ford. (5.5.253–54)
Once the fairy masque is completed and Falstaff’s public shaming has come to an end, the characters prepare to retire to return to Windsor for a celebratory feast. Shakespeare then allows Ford to close the play with the couplet quoted here. The lines are addressed to Falstaff, whom Ford previously visited under the guise of “Master Brook,” claiming to want to sleep with Mistress Ford and make Master Ford a cuckold. Of course, Brook was Ford all along. It is fitting that the play should end with the correct man taking to be the correct woman. And, thus, the arrangement with Falstaff is officially complete.
