Slender, however, enters. He is clearly upset, and he announces to Page that the fairy in white turned out to be “a great lubberly boy” (170). The word lubber means oaf or lout.
Mistress Page then confesses to her husband that she had asked Anne to wear green and that their daughter had eloped with Doctor Caius.
Caius then appears, as upset as Slender, and declares that he has married a boy (line 186).
Master Fenton then arrives with Anne Page (at line 192), and Fenton explains the matter to the Pages. Fenton tells Anne’s parents not to be upset that Anne disobeyed them because she would have cursed the rest of her life had she been forced into a hateful marriage with a man she despised. As Ford observes, “Money buys lands, and wives are sold by fate” (210). In other words, money should not be the main consideration in matters of marriage.
Master and Mistress Page accept Anne’s decision; and the couple invites everyone, including Sir John Falstaff, to their home to celebrate.