Emma Deal

Prof. Schmeling

Script Analysis

11/05/20

Working title here

In the study of genetics, James Watson is a familiar name. For a long time, it was thought

that he, along with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, discovered the shape of DNA and with it,

the secret of life. This, however, was not entirely the case as there was another person working

on the subject of nucleic acids as well. This person was a woman by the name of Rosalind

Franklin, and she was the one who captured the photograph of DNA that allowed the other three

men to make the discovery. The play ​Photograph 51​ by Anna Ziegler tells the story of this

incredible woman and her relationships with her fellow male scientists.

At the start of the play, James Watson is rude, arrogant, competitive, and lacks a sense of

sympathy. We see his arrogance right away when on pages 21 and 22, Francis states that

Rosalind didn’t realize she had something bigger right behind her back, and James thinks he

means him and Francis. When Francis explains that he meant fate, James replies with, “What’s

the difference?” His equivocation of him and Francis to the idea of fate shows how arrogant he

is. Shortly after this, his competitive traits are also very evident. On page 24, James says

something that ends up being the first mention of the notion of a race for DNA. He says, “I want

to get in the race, Wilkins.” Maurice is confused as to which race, and James clarifies that me

means the race for DNA. Maurice responds to this with, “There is no race.” This exhibit’s

James’s competitiveness by showing that he thinks of the study as a race to see who can get it

first.
 Closer to the middle of the play, on pages 38 and 39, James visits Rosalind with a paper

by Linus Pauling about the structure of DNA that is incorrect in a lot of places. James knows that

this paper will be a cause of embarrassment to Linus. When he tells Rosalind about it, she asks

why she needs to know. James replies, “To gloat, for one.” He also shows his sexism by asking

Rosalind if she’s sure about her research, yet earlier, he takes Maurice’s helix proposition at face

value.

By the end of the play, we can still see that he hasn’t really changed. This can be shown

when Maurice expresses his want to start over at the end of the play on page 58, and James

states, “You’ve got to be kidding me Wilkins. I mean, you won. We won. Your name on the

Nobel Prize. Remember that part?” This is one quote I feel really characterizes James as a whole.

It shows that he is all about the competition, the fame, and his own ego. He doesn’t show

sympathy or care, even for someone he may have considered a friend.

One aspect of James’s character that is also very interesting is how well he and Francis

work together. One would think that someone like James would be very difficult to work with or

tolerate, yet his and Francis’s teamwork is one aspect that put them ahead in the study of DNA.

Their dynamic may work because both men have a brash streak. This may make them more

willing to be vocal about their work, allowing them to bounce ideas off of one another. This is

especially evident on page 54 when the two finally fully figure out the shape of DNA. They are

completing the model as a partnership which Anna Ziegler puts in juxtaposition with Ray

explaining that there is no scientific secret to loneliness in reference to Rosalind. I feel that

putting these two opposing ideas on top of each other highlights that James and Francis have

found a way to work together as opposed to Rosalind and Maurice who were not as successful at

cooperation. Maurice even remarks at how the men were able to work together by comparing
their teamwork to that of their research subject. On page 52, when James says, “Whenever

there’s one on the DNA chain, there’s always the other,” Maurice comments, “Like a team. Like

a successful team,” showing his recognition and probable jealousy at his rivals.

To play James, an actor must be able to portray an arrogant and forward person. I believe

that when portraying James, the actor’s resting position should be open. This should include

good posture. Using this body language, an actor can nonverbally communicate James’s nature. I

also think that when the actor moves, they should lead with their lower torso. Despite his flaws,

James Watson is a motivated doer, and leading with the lower torso when moving can portray

that. I also suggest that an actor playing James could go a little further with the acting as opposed

to someone playing Rosalind. This is because James’s personality is meant to be exaggerated,

and Anna Ziegler even states in the “Tone” section before the play starts that James and Francis

can be played “larger than life” within a natural-toned show.

Lastly, I believe that James’s purpose in this play was to show that not all of the forces

working against Rosalind Franklin were simply a “product of the times” as some people might

say. James Watson is shown to have bad characteristics that go beyond the settings of the 1950’s.

He is of course arrogant and unsympathetic, traits associated with toxic masculinity, and he

doesn’t ever take Rosalind seriously except when he states that she is a good photographer when

convincing Maurice to take him on. However, he is also competitive to fault, even in a

competitive industry such as research, causing him to essentially commit intellectual theft. He

takes advantage of Maurice showing him Photograph 51 and is able to work with Francis to

achieve the shape of DNA. Earlier in the show, he also takes the idea that DNA is helical and

makes a model with Francis without consulting Maurice first about his ideas. Maurice even

acknowledges this, stating that James comes from a country “where theft and burglary are upheld
as virtues.” It is important to note that Maurice is described as a product of the times in his

character description, so him acknowledging James’s dishonesty means that this isn’t an

acceptable occurrence in their field. It is these reasons that make me believe James exists in this

play to be a true adversary to Rosalind and not just a circumstantial obstacle.

In conclusion, James Watson’s drive and arrogance are an important part of the play.

These traits are not necessarily good, but they are what enables him and Francis to get the shape

of DNA before Rosalind and Maurice, ultimately making him a large antagonistic force in

Rosalind Franklin’s life as told by ​Photograph 51​.