Sir John Falstaff
The character without whom there would be no play. So popular was the character of Falstaff in his appearances in Henry IV, Part I (and to a lesser degree, Henry IV Part II) that he may well be the first character in English literature to mandate their own spin-off. When Falstaff originally appeared on the English stage, it was as comic relief in a comparatively serious history play about English kings and the War of the Roses. Falstaff was written as large in both physical stature and personality, appearing as a fat, boastful knight who spent most his time drinking to excess or leading Prince Hal astray from his royal duties. He is ultimately repudiated by King Henry (formerly Prince Hal) at the beginning of King Henry V, where his death is announced as soon as the play opens. In The Merry Wives of Windsor, Falstaff is the same overindulgent trickster he is in the Henriad, but critics agree that the lack of foils in the form of serious characters detracts from Falstaff's entertaining antics.
Mistress Ford
One of the titular merry wives of the play, Mistress Ford has a husband who is a jealous man. Not a terribly nice woman, she schemes with good friend Mistress Page to use Falstaff to stoke her husband’s jealousy in an attempt to make fools of both men.
Mistress Page
Even less of a role model than her friend, Mistress Page is more than willing to manipulate Falstaff’s emotional state for her own pleasures, but adds to the mix by being a domineering mother. She intends to guide her daughter away from the wrong husband and into the arms of the right husband.
Anne Page
The daughter of Page and Mistress Page. She is quite exacting in calculating the extent to which her mother intrudes in her private life, as well as the suitability of the men her parents choose for her to marry.
Fenton
A not particularly colorful young man who does, however, possess the one quality that matters to Anne: he actually is in love with her and is not just scheming to impress her parents.
Thomas Page
Husband to Mistress Page, father of Anne, and resistant to Fenton who finally comes around to his daughter’s way of seeing her young suitor. Not nearly as inherently jealous as the husband of Mistress Ford, but not willing to place great trust in Sir John, either.
Slender
A rival of Fenton in name only; he is more colorful, but only in the fact that he is utterly submissive and willing to do whatever he is told. Mainly pursues Anne because his older cousin Shallow wants him to.
Mistress Quickly
A gossipy, not terribly bright, but basically likable old woman who has followed Falstaff out of the pages of the previous plays of the Henriad.
Caius
Mistress Quickly's master and a local doctor. Caius is French, and experiences a similar alienation as Evans because he speaks with an accent. Caius hopes to marry Anne, and his endeavors are supported by Mistress Page. However, Anne does not care for him and the relentless scheming within the play interrupts Caius's hopes of marriage. Eventually he joins Evans in a plot to humiliate the Host after he makes fools of them both.
Sir Hugh Evans
A Welsh clergymen. Other characters are constantly making fun of Evans for his Welsh accent. After being embarrassed by the Host, he joins forces with Caius to humiliate him.
