Marcel Proust Questionnaire

[Kerry]

12. What is your favourite flower? Wisteria.

I too love wisteria, Scott.

15. Who are your favourite poets? Sappho, Horace, Friedrich Holderlin.

Aha, I detect a classicist in our midst! 

17. Who are your favourite heroines of fiction? Titania, the Wife of Bath, Lysistrata.

Are you familiar with Aubrey Beardsley's wonderful illustrations of Aristophanes' Lysistrata? Certainly was most courageous of the women of Athens to defend the city with nothing more than the contents of chamber pots and a lot of hot air!   

19. Who are your favourite painters? Jacques-Louis David, Ingres, Gustav Klimt.

I love David's paintings of the court of Napoleon. Sooo romantic!

28. How would you like to die? With full awareness that I am dying.

I am intrigued by your response, Scott.

31. What is your motto? "Nothing compares, I think, when thinking right, to a good friend."

So very true. Alas, a good friend is so difficult to find.

[moremojo]

Aha, I detect a classicist in our midst! 

Classicist, with a touch of Romanticism!

Are you familiar with Aubrey Beardsley's wonderful illustrations of Aristophanes' Lysistrata?

Oh yes...I'm quite fond of Beardsey's infamous 'Lysistrata' set, and admire Beardsley's work in general.

I am intrigued by your response, Scott.

Luis Bunuel said something similar, and expressed joy (or relief) while on his deathbed to a friend that he was aware of his own dying.

[Arad-3]

1. What is your most marked characteristic?  I am very loyal and giving to my family and friends , but I have a tendacy to want to be liked by everybody, which can be draining.

2. What is the quality you most like in a man?  Strength, loyalty, tenderness, charm , Masculine beauty.

3. What is the quality you most like in a woman?   Strength, loyalty, Nurturing. caring, Feminine beauty.

4. What do you most value in your friends?  Loyalty.

5. What is your principal defect?   Sometimes I'm too nice, have been known to be a real pushover

6. What is your favourite occupation?  I think it would be fun to work behind the scenes making major motion pictures.  Maybe in makeup or wardrobe . But so far in my own life my favorite job was being a bartender back in my early twenties. That was a blast!

7. What is your dream of happiness?   One is:  I'm still around to see both of my daughters marry devoted partners and have healthy happy families of their own.   Second one is:  that someday I will be in a position to travel the world. I would really like conquer my fear of flying and go exploring with someone I love

8. What, to your mind, would be the greatest of misfortunes?  To my mind? That I go insane

9. What would you like to be? If I could,
  I would like to a leader in world peace.  But in reality, I would love to be content

10. In what country would you like to live?    I like it here in the USA. But if I had to leave, probably I would return to where my family is from, Ireland.

11. What is your favourite colour?  Black. Seriously I love black.  Deep reds and purples next

12. What is your favourite flower?  I love those enormous sunflowers. Also lilacs

 13. What is your favourite bird? Peacock's and humming birds

14. Who are your favourite prose writers?  Ann Rice,    Hemingway,   Stephen King,   lots

15. Who are your favourite poets? Robert Frost. Edgar Allen Poe, Walt Whitman

16. Who is your favourite hero of fiction? Superman

17. Who are your favourite heroines of fiction? Cinderella, Scarlet O'Hara

18. Who are your favourite composers? Beethoven Mozart, Elton John

19. Who are your favourite painters?  Kerry,  Van Gogh, Michelangelo

20. Who are your heroes in real life?  The young men and woman who volunteer to defend this country. The scientists that devote their lives to coming up with cures. 

 21. Who are your favourite heroines of history?  MotherTheresa,  Joan of Arc , Anne Frank, Helen Keller, Rosa Parks, Princess Diana 

22. What are your favourite names?  French names.

23. What is it that you most dislike?  How day in and day out how people gets fleeced  to death by oil and gas prices, high electric bills, taxes Insurances, interest rates, late fees,  , the list goes on and on, And there's nothing you can do about it only pay, pay , pay . Then to top it off, in the end, you get to die! And thats really expensive!

24. What historical character  do you most despise? Hitler ,   Bin Laden ,  Stalin  I think alot of people forget about Stalin. He murdered millions of  Soviet citizens including his own wife for questioning him

25. What event in military history do you most admire?   Any event that ended a war. Except for August 6 and 9, 1945, the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ,the dropping of the bombs on Japan. That might of ended the war but that went way beyond revenge for Pearl Harbor

26. What reform do you most admire? Civil rights , womens rights.  Any reforms that protect children, minorities

27. What natural gift would you most like to possess? I would love to master the piano

28. How would you like to die?  As an old lady with my family around cheering , laughing and singing "I did it my way"

29. What is your present state of mind?  It's getting close to spring so I am feeling restless

30. To what faults do you feel most indulgent?  I think I like to party too much sometinmes.

31. What is your motto?   In order to have a good friend..you have got to be a good friend

OMG Kerry that was exhausting!

[Kerry]

7. What is your dream of happiness?   One is:  I'm still around to see both of my daughters marry devoted partners and have healthy happy families of their own.   Second one is:  that someday I will be in a position to travel the world. I would really like conquer my fear of flying and go exploring with someone I love

May all your dreams and wishes come true, Geri.   

16. Who is your favourite hero of fiction? Superman

Did you see the most recent Superman movie? It was absolutely brilliant! It was filmed here in Sydney!

19. Who are your favourite painters?  Kerry,  Van Gogh, Michelangelo

Aw, shucks, Geri, you are such a sweetheart! Thank ya kindly!     

28. How would you like to die?  As an old lady with my family around cheering , laughing and singing "I did it my way"

Your response is an absolute hoot, Geri! I love it! I wish I had the courage to make such a response!

29. What is your present state of mind?  It's getting close to spring so I am feeling restless

I know that feeling only too well. There's the smell of blossom on the air. You start feeling frisky!  Alas, we are presently heading into autumn here in Australia. I love autumn and spring most. No nasty extremes! Don't like extremes!   

31. What is your motto?   In order to have a good friend..you have got to be a good friend

So very true. 

OMG Kerry that was exhausting!

I agree, Geri. It is somewhat of a challenge!        

[Kerry]

I bought my copy of "The Quest for Proust" waaay back in 1969 when I was only 19. I responded to the questionnaire soon after purchasing the book, meaning my initial responses were made at around the same age  Marcel Proust was, when he responded to the questionnaire.

As a matter of curiosity, here are my original 1969 responses:

1. What is your most marked characteristic? Mediocrity.

2. What is the quality you most like in a man? Many.

3. What is the quality you most like in a woman? Maternity.

4. What do you most value in your friends? Supportive loyalty. Stability.

5. What is your principal defect? Inability to comprehend "reality."

6. What is your favourite occupation?  Dreaming.

7. What is your dream of happiness? Artistic recognition (posthumous?)

8. What, to your mind, would be the greatest of misfortunes? Lack of independence.

9. What would you like to be? At peace.

10. In what country would you like to live? Permanently in Australia. Also throughout Europe.

11. What is your favourite colour? So many.

12. What is your favourite flower? So many (jacaranda, gardenia, wisteria, jasmine).

13. What is your favourite bird? So many (sparrow, robin, bell-bird).

14. Who are your favourite prose writers? Leon Uris, James A. Michener, Marcel Proust.

15. Who are your favourite poets? None.

16. Who is your favourite hero of fiction? Apollo & Hiacinthus.

17. Who are your favourite heroines of fiction? None.

18. Who are your favourite composers? Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Puccini.

19. Who are your favourite painters? Van Gogh, Picasso, Matisse, Bonnard, Dali, et cetera.

20. Who are your heroes in real life? Vincent Van Gogh.

21. Who are your favourite heroines of history? None.

22. What are your favourite names? Many and various.

23. What is it that you most dislike? Mediocrity. Deceivers.

24. What historical character  do you most despise? I have not enough space to answer.

25. What event in military history do you most admire? None.

26. What reform do you most admire? The social reforms of today.

27. What natural gift would you most like to possess? Inspired artistic genius.

28. How would you like to die? Young, following enormous artistic productivity.

29. What is your present state of mind? Inadequacy, mediocrity, desolation, despair.

30. To what faults do you feel most indulgent? Laziness, licentiousness, terror.

31. What is your motto?  "Nothing in the affairs of man is worthy of great anxiety" - Plato.

[ifyoucantfixit]

1. What is your most marked characteristic? Stubborness

2. What is the quality you most like in a man? Comfort in his own skin

3. What is the quality you most like in a woman? Resolve

4. What do you most value in your friends? Faithfulness

5. What is your principal defect?  Honesty

6. What is your favourite occupation? Reading, and listening to music

7. What is your dream of happiness? A successful and healthy family

8. What, to your mind, would be the greatest of misfortunes? Not to have a family, or friends

9. What would you like to be? Rich

10. In what country would you like to live? America

11. What is your favourite colour? I love all colors, but it depends on for what...generally I notice that i miss green the most when it is not around....

12. What is your favourite flower? Gardenia

13. What is your favourite bird?   Meadow Lark

14. Who are your favourite prose writers? Dickens, Twain, Shakespeare

15. Who are your favourite poets? Emily Dickensen, and Amy Lowell Walt Whitman, Robt. Frost

16. Who is your favourite hero of fiction? Mr. Darcy  (Pride and Prejudice)

17. Who are your favourite heroines of fiction? Cassandra

18. Who are your favourite composers? Gershwin, Berlin, Mozart

19. Who are your favourite painters?  Van Gogh, Da Vinci Matisse

20. Who are your heroes in real life? Anyone who befriends the weak or helpless

21. Who are your favourite heroines of history? Elizabeth the 1st and Eleanor Roosvelt

22. What are your favourite names? Grandma and Grampa, when spoken by my favorite, grandchildren

23. What is it that you most dislike? hateful, and mean behavior to others

24. What historical character  do you most despise? Hitler, Stalin, all the usual suspects

25. What event in military history do you most admire? Armistace,,,wwi ,,,wwii and the civil war surrender.

26. What reform do you most admire? Repeal of slavery, and the right to vote for all citizens

27. What natural gift would you most like to possess?  grace

28. How would you like to die? peacefully aware

29. What is your present state of mind? mixed

30. To what faults do you feel most indulgent? in others, or myself? In others,
I tolerate most things except lies.  In myself, I indulge my lavishness to my grandaughter.              

31. What is your motto?  One foot in front of the other, just keep going.
[/quote]Because: "If ya cant fix it, ya gotta stand it."

[CellarDweller]

Marcel Proust Questionnaire

1. What is your most marked characteristic?  Optimism.

2. What is the quality you most like in a man? A sense of humor.

3. What is the quality you most like in a woman? understanding.

4. What do you most value in your friends? respect.

5. What is your principal defect? weakness of will.

6. What is your favourite occupation? Loving.

7. What is your dream of happiness? To live comfortably with my future husband.

8. What, to your mind, would be the greatest of misfortunes? Never to have known love.

9. What would you like to be? successful.

10. In what country would you like to live? where I am is just fine.

11. What is your favourite colour? purple or green.

12. What is your favourite flower? don't have one.

13. What is your favourite bird? Rainbow Lorikeets from Australia.




14. Who are your favourite prose writers? Annie Proulx.

15. Who are your favourite poets? I can't say I have one.

16. Who is your favourite hero of fiction? Angel.

17. Who are your favourite heroines of fiction? The Halliwell sisters.

18. Who are your favourite composers? Madonna

19. Who are your favourite painters? Escher.

20. Who are your heroes in real life? Martin Luther King Jr..

21. Who are your favourite heroines of history? Susan B. Anthony.

22. What are your favourite names? Boy - Aiden, Girl - Charisma.

23. What is it that you most dislike? My weakness of will.

24. What historical character  do you most despise? Hitler, but I wouldn't call him a character.

25. What event in military history do you most admire? dont't have one!

26. What reform do you most admire? ending of slavery, and gay rights movement

27. What natural gift would you most like to possess? Will-power and irresistible charm.

28. How would you like to die? peacfully in the arms of a loved one.

29. What is your present state of mind? amsued.

30. To what faults do you feel most indulgent? laziness

31. What is your motto? If you don't keep moving forward, you become stagnant.

[Kerry]

13. What is your favourite bird? Rainbow Lorikeets from Australia.

Rainbow Lorikeets are absolutely beautiful birds, Chuck. Flocks of them sometimes fly past my window. There's no mistaking them. Not only because of their amazingly bright colouring but also because of the dreadful din they make as they fly past!     Like all parrots, they are definitely not  song birds. They make the most ungodly skwarking noise and when there's a lot of them together, which is how one usually finds them, the noise they make is deafening. Their beautiful appearance makes up for the noise, however. 

[CellarDweller]

Rainbow Lorikeets are absolutely beautiful birds, Chuck. Flocks of them sometimes fly past my window. There's no mistaking them. Not only because of their amazingly bright colouring but also because of the dreadful din they make as they fly past!     Like all parrots, they are definitely not  song birds. They make the most ungodly skwarking noise and when there's a lot of them together, which is how one usually finds them, the noise they make is deafening. Their beautiful appearance makes up for the noise, however. 

I think they are so beautiful to look at.....and I seem to remember being told they can be taught to talk.

[Kerry]

I think they are so beautiful to look at.....and I seem to remember being told they can be taught to talk.

That's right. Like most parrots, rainbow lorikeets can be taught to speak. Sometimes with quite surprising results. Many years ago I lived in a garden flat with a big old passionfruit vine growing over a high wall at the rear. The cockatoos liked to eat the unripened passionfruit by taking one big bite out of the fruit and then dropping it to the ground, where it was discarded. I was in bed one morning and was woken by the sound of the cockies (cockatoos) skwarking in the passionfruit vine outside my bedroom window. I jumped out of bed and ran out, waving my arms about, trying to scare them off. They looked down at me with utter contempt and made no move to fly off, knowing full well that they were way out of my reach. I must have annoyed one, however, because he looked down at me, and with his head tilted to one side, as cockies do, declared "F*ck off!" before indignantly flying away. Can't imaging where he picked that up!