35 Questions: The Proust Questionnaire
Answering the personality test made famous by Marcel Proust.
I was reading a copy of Vanity Fair recently and noticed a short celebrity interview on the back page. This series of questions designed to reveal your true personality is known as the Proust Questionnaire, made famous by Marcel Proust though he didn’t create it. The questions are interesting so I thought it’d be fun to take a crack at it and share my answers:
What is your idea of perfect happiness? Reading outside for hours as the day moves by slowly.
What is your greatest fear? Something terrible happening to my loved ones.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Laziness.
What is the trait you most deplore in others? Dishonesty.
Which living person do you most admire? Paul McCartney.
What is your greatest extravagance? Travelling.
What is your current state of mind? Calm and focused.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Faith.
On what occasion do you lie? When I might hurt someone’s feelings.
What do you most dislike about your appearance? I don’t dislike anything in particular except how I might be perceived by others.
Which living person do you most despise? I don’t despise anyone but there are some I strongly dislike.
What is the quality you most like in a man? Creativity.
What is the quality you most like in a woman? Creativity.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse? ‘Cool’ and ‘man’.
What or who is the greatest love of your life? My partner Vanessa.
When and where were you happiest? Telling stories and laughing with family and friends or seeing a great concert.
Which talent would you most like to have? I always wanted to invent something.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I’d like to be smarter!
What do you consider your greatest achievement? Finally becoming a writer because I enjoy it and will be writing for the rest of my life.
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? A tree.
Where would you most like to live? Near a lake and mountains in New York’s Hudson Valley or Catskill region.
What is your most treasured possession? My journal.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? War.
What is your favorite occupation? Musician.
What is your most marked characteristic? My powers of observation.
What do you most value in your friends? Positivity.
Who are your favorite writers? John Steinbeck, John Jeremiah Sullivan and Joan Didion.
Who is your hero of fiction? Captain Nemo from Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.
Which historical figure do you most identify with? I’m not sure.
Who are your heroes in real life? Everyday people who are kind and help others.
What are your favorite names? William, Mary, John and Marian, my grandparents’ names.
What is it that you most dislike? Close-mindedness.
What is your greatest regret? That it took me so long to start writing.
How would you like to die? At home, peacefully, with family.
What is your motto? Fare Quae Sentiat, which means, “Say what one feels.”
Have you answered the questionnaire? Leave your thoughts below!
Until next time,
Keith
