The young Marcel Proust was asked to fill out questionnaires at two social events: one when he was 13, another when he was 20. Proust did not invent this party game; he was simply the most extraordinary person to respond to them. At the birthday party of Antoinette Felix-Faure, the 13-year-old Marcel was asked to answer fifteen questions in the birthday book. Seven years after the first questionnaire, Proust was asked, at another social event, to fill out another; the questions are much the same, but the answers somewhat different, indicative of his traits at 20.
In the back pages of Vanity Fair (and in fact in a number of other periodicals in different countries) each month, readers can find The Proust Questionnaire, a closely related set of questions posed to famous subjects about their lives, thoughts, values and experience.
What is your greatest fear? That I will remain exactly as I am.
What is your current state of mind? Frustration at how difficult being honest here is.
What is your favorite occupation?(way of spending time) Writing.
What historical figure do you most identify with? Julie d'Aubigny
Which living person do you most admire? Stephen Hawking.
Who is your favorite fictional hero? The Doctor
Who are your real-life heroes? Harlan Ellison, Richard Wagner, Carl Sagan, Vincent van Gogh, Julie d'Aubigny
What is your most treasured possession? A Squier Stratocaster signed by the 2003 King Crimson lineup.
When and where were you happiest? Happiness is a relative state of condition.
What is your most obvious characteristic? My need for companionship; alternatively, my fear of solitude.
What is the trait you most deplore (hate) in yourself? My self image and deprecation.
What is the trait you most deplore in others? Disingenuousness.
What is your greatest extravagance? My books and music are a necessity, but the physical containers (books, discs) are an extravagance in a digital age.
What is your favorite journey? Hopefully the one that will lead me to the person I feel I am supposed to be.
What do you most dislike about your appearance? My appearance.
What do you consider the most over-rated virtue? Piety.
On what occasion do you lie? Every day when I put on a mask to deal with existence.
Which words or phrases do you most over-use? I try very consciously to not rely on repeated phrases. Having said that, I am sure with thought I could list a plethora of overused phrases and crutches.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? The physical representation of my gender identity.
What do you consider your greatest achievement? The fact that I have not yet given up.
Where would you like to live? Someplace where peace is the norm, where art and creativity are encouraged and supported alongside science and rationality. Where all people are well and truly equal.
What is the quality you most admire in a man? Gentleness and kindness.
What is the quality you most admire in a woman? Strength and confidence.
What is it you most dislike? Dishonesty, at both a micro and macro scale.
What do you value most in your friends? Their constancy and honesty, even when it is not deserved.
How would you like to die? Quietly, with my friends around me. Not alone. And as myself.
If you were to die and come back as a person or an animal, what do you think it would be? If a person, someone whose physical carriage matched their inner identity. If an animal, a wolf.
If you could choose an object to come back as, what would you choose? A book.
What is your motto (words you live by or that mean a lot to you)? If I name myself, I recognize who I am. By recognizing who I am, I am becoming myself. - Robert Fripp
Who has been the greatest influence on you? Each and every person whose life has intersected with mine, as they have each played a part in forming the person I am today.
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