Chapter 4 Summary

Maurice Wilkins came to Naples to deliver a presentation in lieu of his boss, and by the time he arrived, Watson was disheartened with Naples. The weather was cold, made colder by the absence of heating, and Herman's biochemistry was still uninteresting to Watson. Maurice's presentation, showing an X-ray image of crystallized DNA, was the first thing to capture Watson's interest. The crystallized images were evidence that DNA had a regular structure. Suddenly, Watson saw a connection between his interest and chemistry. He introduced himself to Maurice, but only was able to speak to him briefly. Maurice seemed initially attracted to Watson's sister Elizabeth, who had come to Europe to visit him, and Watson allowed himself to fantasize that his sister would give up her unintelligent suitors for the clearly brilliant Wilkins and that Watson, therefore, would become closely involved in Wilkins's work...