Please note: Spoilers in this w/u.
Thomas Covenant is something of tragic figure, though the way he goes about it lands him quickly in my list of Intolerable Protagonists.
Tom is a leper, and feels isolated from the world because of this. After his wife left him, he completely withdrew. Suddenly he finds himself in a mystical, magical place known only as The Land. The natives notice that he is missing two fingers, lost to leprosy, and begin comparing him to Berek Halfhand, a hero from their mythology. Annoyingly enough for Covenant, he begins to regain feeling in his extremities, something he'd long thought lost forever. When asked by the local High Council to save The Land from Lord Foul, Covenant names himself Unbeliever, to show his rejection of the Land, and its healing properties. He does however, eventually get off his ass and save The Land. He goes home, and the leprosy retakes his sensations. This leaves him a broken and bitter man for the second trilogy.
Something that is mentioned in the first trilogy which becomes a stronger theme in the second is the presence of Tom's wedding band, crafted from White Gold. In The Land, white gold functions as something of a magical focus, allowing various and sundry magical effects, such as fending off Lord Foul and his various minions.
Thomas Covenant would have been a better character if he hadn't been so insufferable. At least he dies by the end of the series.
Starkllr - Appreciated. It's been some six+ years since I read the series.