In Nicolai's opera "The Merry Wives of Windsor", this fat, funny rogue gets dumped into the river in a laundry basket
[DOC] [TLE] falstaff - rssing.com [PAR] A funny subtext that brought forth the social context of the opera in updated form 
was ... Falstaff is based on Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor" which 
was ... Falstaff is lured into their trap and summarily dumped into the River 
Thames.