The 51st Photograph

The eponymous final photograph that shows the presence of a double helix is not only a discovery with vast consequences for mankind, but also an acute representation of the treachery suffered by Rosalind. The insignificance of the number 51 alludes to the random nature of the discovery, that such a momentous discovery existed in one photograph labelled in a long line of failed images. The photograph represents missed opportunities, the cruel climate of chance and the fateful treachery of a friend.

Fundamentally, it is an x-ray diffraction image of crystallised DNA, taken by Ray Gosling at the behest of his supervisor, Rosalind Franklin. To the untrained eye, the image itself is blurry and does not depict much at all, but the reality behind the haunting photograph is that it holds the key to the shape and structure of DNA’s signature double helix.

A Winter’s Tale, a play by Peter Brooks

Ziegler’s literary allusion of the Peter Brooks 1951 production of A Winter’s Tale in London’s West End confirms the context of the time in which the discovery was made. The tautological discussion of a play within a play is another device used by Ziegler to allow retrospection of what has happened and the potential for things to be different. One weekend, Rosalind sees the play and, on the following Monday, Wilkins admits he nearly saw the same performance but left it to the last minute to buy a ticket and missed out. In addition to foreshadowing Rosalind’s error of ill-decision, it symbolises that their relationship is built on mistrust and misdirection. Wilkins later admits that, on that night, he wanted to follow Rosalind into the theatre to share a friendly moment together. Their final conversation is symbolic; Rosalind resigns that although the actor playing the male character in the play was wonderful, the female co-star simply did not ‘stand out’ (p. 83). Rosalind’s critique of A Winter’s Tale comes to represent the ways in which women’s voices and deeds are buried beneath the performance of their male counterparts, in theatre as well as other arenas.