My Proust Questionnaire

Many years ago, I read an interview with Anita Roddick. She was a big fan of the Proust questionnaire. She allegedly used it to test applicants. She also thought it was a good tool to get to know potential partners better.

Here are my answers to all the questions (as of: June 2024):

Where would you like to live?
In a quiet and warm place

What is perfect happiness for you?
Lying in the sun with a good book

Which errors are you most likely to excuse?
Those that don't cause much harm

What is the biggest disaster for you?
Sickness and pain

Your favorite heroes in novels?
Kurt Wallander, Harry Angstrom

Your favorite character in history?
Socrates, Jesus

Your favorite heroes in real life?
Paramedics, craftsmen

Your favorite painter?
Quentin Blake, Janosch

Your favorite author?
That changes frequently. John Updike, Ingrid Noll, Ursula K. Le Guin, Stanislaw Lem, Lew N. Tolstoy

Your favorite composer?
Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, George Harrison

What qualities do you value most in a woman?
Being friendly, sense of humor

What qualities do you value most in a man?
Being friendly, patience

Your favorite virtue?
Being harmless

Your favorite activity?
Drawing. Or writing

Who or what would you have liked to be?
Diogenes

Your main character trait?
Curiosity

What do your friends appreciate?
Doing interesting things

Your biggest mistake?
Inactivity

Your dream of happiness?
Everything is okay.

What would be your greatest misfortune?
War, disease

What would you like to be?
Happy

Your favourite color?
Sky blue, orange

Your favorite flower?
Poppy

Your favorite bird?
Eurasian jay

Your favorite writer?
The above.

Your favorite poet?
Friedrich Rückert, Rudyard Kipling, Pablo Neruda

Your reality heroes?
Everyone who does unpleasant things to keep society going

Your heroines in history?
Elizabeth I Tudor, Sappho

Your favorite names?
Walter, Ida, Peter, Mia

What do you despise the most?
Cruelty

What historical figures do you detest the most?
Torturers, murderers with base motives

Which reform do you admire the most?
The introduction of the rule of law

What natural gift would you like to possess?
Patience

How would you like to die?
Very old

Your current state of mind?
Relaxed

Your motto?
Be the change you wish to see in the world.