1G0xxeB

Fulfillment in As You Like It1 0 9Nevertheless, Touchstone’s very decision to marry, in however unorthodoxa fashion, shows a belief that even the philosophically inclined need socialconventions to reinforce their determination to remain constant (3.3.90–94).He is aware that “as the ox hath his bow…, the horse his curb, and the falconhis bells, so man hath his desires: and as pigeons bill, so wedlock would benibbling” (3.3.79–82). His metaphors point to the paradox that it is marriagerather than unbridled passion which liberates our nature, since it helps usto fulfill our deep yearning for constancy. Touchstone almost “stagger[s]” inhis project, with a “fearful heart,” since he is fully aware of the chaotic powerof physical desires: “as horns are odious, they are necessary” (3.3.51–52). Itseems that he is resisting fiercely the despairing thought that must occurto anyone philosophically inclined—especially in modern and early moderntimes—that our nature is inescapably bestial. He has already expresseddoubts about his paradoxical project of a “natural” marriage, and quicklyagrees with Jaques that it is best not to be “married under a bush” (3.3.49–51,3.3.83–84). He acknowledges the role that conventional religious traditionsplay in restraining aspects of our nature when he reflects that it would bebetter to be married in a church by a proper priest, lest, “not being well married,it will be a good excuse for me hereafter to leave my wife” (3.3.92–94).He is aware that fickleness is part of our nature, which means that our higherimpulses need every available support from society.It is significant that Jaques’s most useful and least typical action in thewhole play is to advise Touchstone to marry in church rather than followinghis natural bent, for, if he were to be married “under a bush” rather thanin church, his original nature might reassert itself and, “like green timberwarp, warp” (3.3.83–89). Here once again Jaques contradicts his habitualpessimism, perhaps revealing a vicarious longing for an enduring love, aswell as an uncharacteristic faith in the power of sacred traditions to reinforceour rational decisions and harmonize the potentially chaotic elements withinhuman nature.Touchstone’s partial reliance on convention might make us wonderwhether the radical disillusionment of the philosopher is the best way ofachieving The Good Life. One could infer from Jaques’s and Touchstone’sworries about marriage conducted “under a bush” that the latter’s extremescepticism could have endangered his chances of happiness were it not forhis clear understanding of his own ultimate goal. This is especially truebecause, as we have seen, he is prone to define himself as an animal and so tosee adultery as natural. The fact that Audrey has come to set the same value