On the 15th of February 1889, a young woman submitted this questionnaire to Debussy.  Here are my own answers to the same questions...to see Debussy's answers, please click here.

Your favorite virtue?  sincerity
Your favorite qualities in men? modesty, selflessness, compassion
Your favorite qualities in women? courage, dedication, perseverance, compassion
Your favorite occupation?  battling the tyranny of time through music
Your chief characteristic? all-consuming
Your idea of happiness? love
Your idea of misery?  unrequited love
Your favorite color?  black...fashion-wise, it's universal
If not yourself, who would you be? a poet/writer, a test-car driver, physician, meteorologist, philanthropist, peace-keeper
Where would you like to live? by any body of water, or immersed in a forest of trees, or both
Your favorite prose authors? E.B. White, Haruki Murakami
Your favorite poets?  E.E. Cummings, Rilke, Neruda
Your favorite painters and composers? Odilon Redon, Claude Monet, Rene Magritte, Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Antonio Carlos Jobim
Your favorite hero in real life? Ghandi, Thich Nhat Hanh
You favorite heroine in real life? ask again later
You favorite heroes in fiction? Atreyu
Your favorite heroines in fiction? Hermione
You favorite food and drink? changes by the day...
Your favorite names?  any name that fits the person
Your pet aversion?  pretentiousness, pride and arrogance
What character in history do you most dislike?  Hitler, Caligula
What is your present state of mind?  insofar as the fabric of space-time is concerned, utterly unraveled
For what fault have you the most toleration? laziness
Your favorite motto?  "In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years. A good teacher is like a candle- it consumes itself to light the way for others." -Jacques Barzun

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