This entry proved hard to write because I kept getting stuck on her characterization. The biggest hints as to her personality come from two things:

Her short autobiography that describes her as an indomitable force, teaching herself to sew and write;

Her late-in-life defense of two men who’d done terribly by her.

The contradiction between these two struck me as the paradoxical crux of her character: supremely capable, but feeling beholden to men whom I’d characterize as abusive. It’s such an important part of her story, but it’s also incredibly uncomfortable. I didn’t want to dwell on it, since she very consciously didn’t – but I also couldn’t omit it. I shared in-progress versions of this entry to a number of friends with disabilities, and friends who’d been through abusive relationships, for sensitivity reads. I adjusted accordingly, and hope I threaded the needle well enough.