The Proust Questionnaire is a set of questions popularised (though not devised) by the French essayist and novelist Marcel Proust.
These questions are often used by interviewers, writers and children alike!
If you ever had little “friendship books” full of questions circulate in your friend circle when you were young, you’ve played this game before.
The Victorians liked to play a parlour game known as the confession album.
It was a kind of autograph book that, instead of leaving room for invented or remembered poetry, provided the writer with formulaic catechism.
It fell out of favour towards the end of the 19th century, though it’s made a few comebacks.
At the birthday party of Antoinette Félix-Faure, the 13-year-old Proust was asked to answer fifteen questions in the birthday book.
Seven years later, at age 20, he was asked to fill out another; the questions were similar but Proust’s answers were somewhat different.
The birthday book was discovered in 1924 and published in a French literary journal. It was sold at auction in 2003 for €102,000 (about $113,000USD).
Other historical figures that have answered confession albums include Oscar Wilde, Karl Marx, Arthur Conan Doyle, Paul Cézanne, Enzo Kehl and Martin Boucher.
The questions from Proust’s questionnaires:
- What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
- Where would you like to live?
- What is your idea of earthly happiness?
- To what faults do you feel most indulgent?
- Who are your favourite heroes of fiction?
- Who are your favourite characters in history?
- Who are your favourite heroines in real life?
- Who are your favourite heroines in fiction?
- Your favourite painter?
- Your favourite musician?
- The quality you most admire in a man?
- The quality you most admire in a woman?
- Your favourite virture?
- Your favourite occupation?
- Who would you have liked to be?
- Your most marked characteristic?
- What do you most value in your friends?
- What is your principle defect?
- What, to your mind, would be the greatest of misfortunes?
- What would you like to be?
- What is your favourite colour?
- What is your favourite flower?
- What is your favourite bird?
- Who are your favourite prose writers?
- Who are your favourite poets?
- Who are your heroes in real life?
- Who are your favourite heroines of history?
- What are your favourite names?
- What is it you most dislike?
- What historical figures do you most despise?
- What event in military history do you most admire?
- What natural gift would you most like to possess?
- How would you like to die?
- What is your present state of mind?
- What is your motto?
A version of the Proust questionnaire is regularly seen on the back page of Vanity Fair magazine, where various celebrities have answered.
The Vanity Fair version of the Proust questionnaire:
- What is your idea of perfect happiness?
- What is your greatest fear?
- What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
- What is the trait you most deplore in others?
- Which living person do you most admire?
- What is your greatest extravagance?
- What is your current state of mind?
- What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
- On what occasion do you lie?
- What do you most dislike about your appearance?
- Which living person do you most despise?
- What is the quality you most like in a man?
- What is the quality you most like in a woman?
- Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
- What or who is the greatest love of your life?
- When and where were you happiest?
- Which talent would you most like to have?
- If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
- What do you consider your greatest achievement?
- If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
- Where would you most like to live?
- What is your most treasured possession?
- What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
- What is your favourite occupation?
- What is your most marked characteristic?
- What do you most value in your friends?
- Who are your favourite writers?
- Who is your hero of fiction?
- Which historical figure do you most identify with?
- Who are your heroes in real life?
- What are your favourite names?
- What is it that you most dislike?
- What is your greatest regret?
- How would you like to die?
- What is your motto?
As you can see, there are clear similarities between the two – the one in Vanity Fair is maybe a bit updated to fit modern language better.
In any case, whichever questionnaire you choose to use, it’s a great way to get into your MCs inner workings and create characters that have more depth and complexity.
Characters that, ultimately, will also feel more real to you reader.
