Ch. 2, Fear-the Great Enemy Summary and Analysis

Fear is the worst stumbling block. Eleanor Roosevelt is an exceptionally timid child who overcomes her fear of nearly everything through self-discipline. Her grandmother raises her from the age of seven. Eleanor Roosevelt desires love and affection but is usually told "no" to anything she requests. Her fear of the dark is diminished when she goes outside in the dark to retrieve ice from the icebox for her sick aunt. This anecdote serves as an example of overcoming fear through self-discipline. Eleanor Roosevelt is forbidden to attend the play "Tess of the d'Urbervilles," so she lies and says she is going to the fair instead; the torment of the lie teaches her not to lie. In the early part of her marriage, she accidentally tears a page of her husband's book; his bewilderment and amusement...