I
love the back page of Vanity Fair magazine which publishes celebrities’ answers
to the Proust Questionnaire.
According
to Wikipedia, in the late nineteenth century answering lists of questions was a
popular activity where people could express their tastes and aspirations.
In
1890 Proust recorded his answers to the questions and the questionnaire has
taken on his name although he was not the author.
The original manuscript with his answers was sold in 2003 in England for
an exorbitant sum.
I
have always wanted to try answering these questions and recently attempted it. It’s harder than I imagined it would be.
You can try Vanity Fair’s interactive
questionnaire at this link:
I’ve
selected the following 8 questions as my ‘mini Proust questionnaire’.
1) What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Perfect
happiness is both starting and completing my cross-stitch projects!
There's much joy at both ends of a project.
Here’s
a picture of a project that is simultaneously started and in progress. Six of the twelve patterns
have been completed and the remaining six are being worked.
2) What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Selfishness. It’s a terrible failing and a deplorable
trait to have.
3) What is your favorite journey?
Travelling
home. It really is ‘Home Sweet Home’ and
‘There’s no place like home’ for me.
4) What is it that you most dislike?
Being
away from home.
5) What is your most marked characteristic?
I
require a lot of solitary time.
6) What is the quality you most admire in a man?
Generosity
Here’s
a picture of the most generous man I know!
7) What is your most treasured possession?
All
of the handmade pieces I inherited from my grandmother, mother and aunt.
I can feel their presence when I touch their
needlework. If I had to pick one
particular piece, I think it would be the crochet tablecloth my mom made for me
from a pattern I selected without regard to how difficult it might be for her to
work. She completed it rather quickly
and it’s a beauty.
Here’s
a picture of another favorite made by my mother in the 1950's in the classic pineapple pattern. It always covered our kitchen table.
8) What is your motto?
It’s
better to laugh than cry
