Trustworthy or Deceptive?

After receiving the letters from Falstaff, Mistress Page and Mistress Ford plan their revenge. They decide to play along and lead Falstaff on. However, as we have seen previously, Ford is quite distrusting of his wife, while Page is the contrary. So, how trustworthy is Mistress Ford actually being to her husband? Although she doesn’t do anything with Falstaff, I find it interesting that she would continue such a prank, knowing that her husband’s trust is not easy. The idea of playing along seems like a very easy way to make her husband doubt her even more and the reason she takes this risk is beyond me, especially for someone like Falstaff. The fact that Mistress Ford hides the letter from her husband, or rather mentions that it is good he did not see it continually adds to the suspicion of Mistress Ford and of her honesty. While Mistress Page is as much included in this act as Mistress Ford, we know that Page is more trustworthy and lenient with his wife. When the men do find out about the letters and discuss them, Page is more open-minded, allowing his wife to be near Falstaff, trusting in her completely. Ford, while admitting he trusts his wife, does not want her near Falstaff at all. This is interesting to see because it plays back into the ideas of trust in this play and how they are exceeded, when women decide to put fate into their own hands.