The Proust Questionnaire
I’ve never answered this before, partly because I didn’t think I could ever come up with replies so profound and witty and deeply held that they could stand the test of time and that I wouldn’t want to constantly alter. I still don’t. But the beauty of the blog is that I can change them, and I likely will. (This fear of “setting in stone” makes it hard to write sometimes and is one of the same reasons I don’t have a tattoo; I never found a design I could live with for the rest of my life. Fortunately, I am less fearful of committing to people than tattoos or questionnaires.)
Here’s some background from Wikipedia, with the proviso that I have no idea if it’s been fact-checked:
“The Proust Questionnaire 
is a questionnaire about one’s personality. Its name and modern popularity as a form of interview is owed to the responses given by the French writer Marcel Proust. At the end of the nineteenth century, when Proust was still in his teens, he answered a questionnaire in an English-language confession album belonging to his friend Antoinette, daughter of future French President Félix Faure, entitled ‘An Album to Record Thoughts, Feelings, etc. 
At that time, it was a fad among English families to answer such a list of questions that revealed the tastes and aspirations of the taker. Proust answered the questionnaire several times in his life, always with enthusiasm. The original manuscript of his answers of 1890, at the time of his volunteer internship or some little time afterwards, titled ‘by Marcel Proust himself,’ was found in 1924. It was auctioned on May 27, 2003 for the sum of €102,000.”
And here we go…..
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Being with my family, happy at home or exploring the great outdoors.
What is your current state of mind?
Overwhelmed and grateful.
What is your greatest fear?
Losing someone I love. Or being lost to them.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Impatience, impatience, impatience.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Mean-spiritedness. Lack of empathy.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Traveling in comfort when we’d be just as happy camping in a tent.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Productivity.
What is it that you most dislike?
Violence, disease, and poverty.
On what occasion do you lie?
To avoid hurting someone’s feelings.
What do you dislike most about your appearance?
That I don’t look to others how I picture myself.
What are the qualities you most like in a man?
Kindness, intelligence, integrity, humor, creativity, depth.
What are the qualities you most like in a woman?
Ditto.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
“What?”
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
My big sweetheart. And my little sweetheart.
When and where were you happiest?
Just when I think I can’t be happier, I find I am.
Which talent would you most like to have?
To be able to sing.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My daughter.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
One thing: My vision. Plus two things: Higher energy, lower anxiety.
If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
If dying is an “if,” then I’d prefer not to.
What is your most treasured possession?
Love letters from Mark and photos, but I am not attached to most objects.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Losing a child.
What is your most marked characteristic?
My laugh has been compared to a pig hunting for truffles.
What do you most value in your friends?
Honesty, trust, and acceptance.
Who are your favorite writers?
I can’t play favorites. Whoever wrote a book I didn’t want to finish.
Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Curious George, at the moment
Who is your favorite heroine?
Jo in “Little Women”
Who are your heroes in real life?
Those who help others in need without being asked.
What is your motto?
If you do what you love, everything else follows.
What is your greatest regret?
That I didn’t find Mark earlier.
How would you like to die?
When I’m ready.
