When he was young, Marcel Proust wrote the answers to some questions in his notebook and gave them to his friend. Although they were not exactly the same, years later he answered similar questions again. The answers to these questions make it easier to recognise the person and give an idea of the person.
The questions in this notebook had unexpected effects years later. They were used in literary programmes and shows and became a thing. So much so that it soon became popular, as the questions were asked of many people. It became known as the “Proust Questionnaire”.
Although the questions reflect the childishness of age, as we all know, such questions can sometimes be more difficult for adults to answer. This is because life’s experiences make us think more about seemingly simple questions.
Since these questions become the basic questions for understanding a person’s character over time, it would not be wrong to think that they can be used to create and elaborate novel characters. After all, everyone must have a personality, whether they are people kneaded in the realism of life or the characters of our fictional stories that flow from our pens.
Although there is a general change in the number of these questions used in different media over the years, some of them remain constant. Let’s share these questions (I’ll take the source from here, but it’s useful to check here and here for more):
What is your favorite virtue?
What are your favorite qualities in a man?
What are your favorite qualities in a woman?
What is your chief characteristic?
What you appreciate the most in your friends?
What is your main fault?
What is your favorite occupation?
What is your idea of happiness?
What is your idea of misery?
If not yourself, who would you be?
Where would you like to live?
What is your favorite color and flower?
Who are your favorite prose authors?
Who are your favorite poets?
Who are your favorite heroes in fiction?
Who are your favorite heroines in fiction?
Who are your favorite painters and composers?
If you were wondering what kind of answers Proust gave, you can also check them in the first source given.
Photo by Stephen Andrews on Unsplash
Funnily enough, I remember some of my friends doing this when I was at primary school. I would write the answers to questions like “my favourite friend”, “my favourite food” or “my favourite animal” in their notebooks. It is surprising that we were doing something similar without realising it.
It seems that some attitudes persist throughout history. It’s like asking someone what kind of music they like before making friends. It’s a rough measure of whether our personalities are compatible.
I think it’s also an ideal way to understand our periodic moods. Even if the questions are specific to us or vary, the answers we give can help to raise our awareness at some point.
It is another logical choice, especially if it is done at a certain interval of time. This will help us to see the changes that have taken place. You can see it as, you write a diary, but you do it with limited questions. As you go back and read each memory, you will be able to analyse your answers and see the changes in your mind and heart.
I plan to write down the answers to these questions (and others like them) as soon as possible, and ask the same questions again six months later, because I believe that a person’s life changes significantly in at least six months.
Also, although I have a background for each of the characters in my head, I have not worked them out in detail. I have not had time to sit down and talk to them properly. Each of them has a name, a title, a favourite or a rival. The dominant emotions that lie within them can sometimes manifest themselves more strongly. But I can’t say that I know them all.
Since I have learnt the Proust Questionnaire, I feel the need to create different questions specific to my characters in each story. I feel the need to do this before the final editing, because if I don’t get to know them well enough, the readers might not get to know them at all. And that wouldn’t be their fault.
Therefore, each character gains both realism and personality by being constructed in such a way that they can answer certain questions, even if not in all the details. This helps to create a coherent, solid and comprehensible structure.
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