I had to think about this one, but when the answer came to me, I knew instinctively that it was the right one. It's to Lyman Ward, the [male] narrator of Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose, which is one of my favourite books, and which won the 1972 Pulitzer. Lyman's elderly and disabled. He has degenerative arthritis which has caused his joints to lock, and he's stuck in a wheelchair. However, he has his house rigged up so he can get around it easily, and he has excellent caregivers, so that he can live independently.

Why do I relate to Lyman Ward? I'm bipolar, which is a disability of sorts. The severity of it kept me from working for several years until I could be stabilized on medication. Lyman's wife Ellen left him, unable to tolerate his anger at the disease, I have often feared [and will probably continue to fear] that eventually my spouse's incredible patience and kindness will dry up and that he'll be gone with the wind. Lyman's son, Rodman, is trying to put his father in a home, not so much for Lyman's sake but so that he, Rodman, will have peace of mind about his father's safety and health. Lyman steadily resists, and goes to great lengths to prove that he can live independently. One of my great fears is that someone in my family will put me in a home and that I will be institutionalized on a long-term basis, and frankly, I'd rather die than face that. It didn't occur to me until I thought about this writer's block question that I identify with Lyman Ward so strongly, but apparently, I do!