Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great is, at its core, a novel about the importance of facing one’s fears and exploring their causes. For Sheila, the world is a scary place, and danger lurks around every corner. However, during her summer in Tarrytown, two of Sheila’s biggest fears are challenged: her fear of dogs and her fear of swimming. The Tarrytown swimming pool and the Egrans’ dog Jennifer come to represent the fears that Sheila actively tries to avoid, and the unknowns she must learn to face head-on and overcome.

Sheila prides herself on doing things well, but when it comes to swimming, her fear causes her to give up before she even tries. Early in the novel, she declares she is “never going to learn how to swim” (35). Swimming represents Sheila’s fear of failure: failure to swim, failure to make friends, failure to maintain her image. Fear of failure motivates Sheila to try to take control of situations, even when her controlling behavior is overbearing, and even when it hinders her ability to rely on others. Sheila has a very hard time trusting Marty to keep her safe and teach her how to swim.

Sheila’s fear of failure is also a fear of shame.