Proust Questionnaire: Hoelder1in's answers

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On Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:20:26 UTC Hoelder1in (51) answered the Proust Questionnaire:

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?: Seeing a loved one suffer and not being able to help
Where would you like to live?: In a country of like-minded people
What is your idea of earthly happiness?: I go with Proust there: to live in contact with those I love, with the beauties of nature, with a quantity of books and music, though, instead of a French Theater, I might add easy access to the Internet.
To what faults do you feel most indulgent?: Those that I find in myself
Who are your favorite heroes of fiction?: Those of the last couple of books I read; I don't have any specific heroes beyond that.
Who are your favorite characters in history?: The scientists, thinkers, artists who advanced humankind, who contributed to our world-view and culture
Who are your favorite heroines in real life?: I don't have any heroines in real life.
Who are your favorite heroines of fiction?: Christa Wolf's Kassandra... I can't think of many convincing female fictional characters, perhaps I need to read more female writers.
Your favorite painter?: Edvard Munch, Max Beckmann, Jackson Pollock, Andrew Wyeth
Your favorite musician?: Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Rachmaninov
The quality you most admire in a man?: Empathy, the ability to listen, an independent and creative mind, the same qualities I value in a woman
The quality you most admire in a woman?: Empathy, the ability to listen, an independent and creative mind, the same qualities I value in a man
Your favorite virtue?: Honesty with oneself
Your favorite occupation?: Sharing my thoughts with a friend
Who would you have liked to be?: A scientist who significantly contributed to our view of the world
Your most marked characteristic?: Curiosity
What do you most value in your friends?: Empathy, the ability to listen
What is your principle defect?: I need to think about that some more; once I have made up my mind, I probably won't tell... ;)
What to your mind would be the greatest of misfortunes?: To lose those I love
What would you like to be?: A mind the size of a star
What is your favorite color?: Something bright, cheerful, and optimistic
What is your favorite flower?: I find Proust's answer, "Hers", wonderful.
What is your favorite bird?: The Wandering Albatross
Who are your favorite prose writers?: I don't have any longterm favorites, I used to love Bettina von Arnim and Christoph-Martin Wieland, in the field of scifi, Stanislaw Lem and Greg Egen, most often the author I currently read, right now Marcel Proust.
Who are your favorite poets?: My namesake, Friedrich Hölderlin, Karoline von Günderode, a number of others from whom I just like individual poems
Who are your heroes in real life?: I don't have any heroes in real life.
Who are your favorite heroines of history?: Hypatia of Alexandria and her courageous sisters who, through the ages, stood up for their ideas in a male-dominated environment
What are your favorite names?: Rastaban and Aspidiske, the names of two stars; I think of them as lovers or perhaps brother and sister...
What is it you most dislike?: Stupidity
What historical figures do you most despise?: The obvious ones, whose names I don't want to do the honor of writing them here
What event in military history do you most admire?: My discharge as unfit for military service (in the spirit of Felix Krull)
What natural gift would you most like to possess?: Superhuman intelligence
How would you like to die?: At a time of my own choosing
What is your present state of mind?: I like Proust's answer, annoyance at having to think about myself in order to answer these questions.
What is your motto?: I don't have a motto.

More about me at http://hoelder1in.org

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