Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Double Helix, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Research, Adventure, and the Thrill of Discovery
Scientific Collaboration, Competition, and Community
DNA and the Secret of Life
Academic Life and the University
Summary
Analysis
When Watson first met Max Perutz at the Cavendish Laboratory, he knew nothing about crystallography. But he learned fast. Cambridge’s beautiful buildings entranced him—he knew he was in the right place. After the mustachioed, “uncompromisingly British” Sir Lawrence Bragg formally accepted Watson into his lab, Watson visited Copenhagen to tell Herman Kalckar about his plans.
Crystallography, or the study of crystal structure, was significant to biologists because it allowed them to learn about the structure of important molecules like DNA through experiments. Watson’s comments about Cambridge’s buildings show that he felt a sense of serenity and belonging there. He suggests that the university’s physical environment was perfectly suited to foster intellectual growth and discovery.
Themes
Next, Watson wrote the Fellowship Board to formally request a transfer to Cambridge. But the Board refused—Watson wasn’t qualified for crystallography work. Watson then wrote Salvador Luria, who was friends with the Board’s new chairman, to ask for help. At Luria’s suggestion, Watson proposed collaborating with both Max Perutz and the Cambridge plant biochemist Roy Markham. But the Fellowship Board merely wrote back to say it was considering Watson’s petition. Fortunately, Watson had plenty of savings from his time in Copenhagen, so he went ahead and installed himself in Cambridge. When his landlady kicked him out, he moved into a room in John Kendrew’s house.
Watson’s unfamiliarity with crystallography again shows how surprising and unlikely his and Crick’s discovery was. While scientists like Maurice Wilkins had been doing crystallography experiments on DNA for years, Watson and Crick were practically untrained in the field. Still, despite his inexperience, Watson’s connections again saved him—they gave him the freedom to follow his curiosity to Cambridge. Of course, his generous fellowship also made a huge difference. This again shows how scholars’ intellectual and scientific work really depends on whether institutions meet their day-to-day material needs.
Themes
