This
paper explains that the character of Falstaff, in William Shakespeare's "Henry IV" is a completely
independent organism; he is both a child, who needs
nursing, and a mother, who gives nursing, which renders him emotionally self-sufficient. The author points out that Falstaff has no sense of
history; he is devoid of the peripheral vision of past or future that tends to de-emphasize the present; thus, Falstaff lives like
nature because he is not fiscally bound to dependence, conscious of himself or a partaker in history. The paper relates that Falstaff never fully believes in honor, but he does see practical value in wearing its
mask, having a title, to the point that he will lie about killing Hotspur to have it.