June 2024

Play With Yourself

I had an essay ready to go for June - in fact, I wrote it back in May. Then I decided I hated it.

So I'm offering instead the Proust Questionnaire. I had never seen the questionnaire in its entirety until it was sent to me by my German publisher, which will publish "In a Strange City" this fall. It's all over the web, but I thought I'd provide the 37 questions here and let everyone play. There's no score to tabulate at the end, no button to push that will tell you which character you most resemble in "Sex & the City" or "Scooby-Doo." But it just might save you years of therapy. Or send you into therapy. If anyone wants to share their answer to #3, I'm particularly interested in that subject.

Bear in mind, this is a French document translated into English by German-speakers. I've corrected spelling, but left the questions in the form I received them. Some links below hint at my answers.

1. Which is the greatest disaster for you personally?
2. Where would you want to live?
3. How do you define complete happiness?

4. What kind of mistakes do you excuse most readily?
5. Your favorite protagonist in a novel?
6. Your favorite protagonist in history?
7. Your favorite real life-heroines?
8. Your favorite literary heroines?
9. Your favorite painter?
10. Your favorite composer?
11. Qualities you like best in a man
12. Qualities you like best in a woman
13. The virtue you consider the highest
14. Your favorite activity?
15. Who or what would you have wanted to be?
16. What do you consider to be you chief quality?
17. What is it you like best about your friends?
18. Your characteristic shortcoming?
19. Your dream of happiness?
20. Which would be the greatest disaster for you personally?
21. Who would you like to be?
22. Your favorite color?
23. Your favorite flower?
24. Your favorite bird?
25. Your favorite author?
26. Your favorite poet?
27. Persons in real life you admire most
28. Heroines in history
29. Your favorite names?
30. What do you despise most?
31. Historical figures you dislike most
32. Military achievements you admire most

33. The reform you admire most
34. A talent you wish you yourself had
35. The way you would want to die
36. Your current state of mind?
37. Your motto?

Read Musings and Advice.
Read We Were Haranders.
Read Spying on Harriet.
Read Gone Baby Gone.
Read The Last Good Saturday Night.
Read In a Strange Kitchen.
Read The "D" Word.

| Home | Books | FAQ | | Archives | E-mail | Newsletter |
| Biography | Writings | Interviews | Links | Search |