Jim became the villain in the Rosalind Franklin story. But Sayre did not entirely blame him. She recognized that Franklin’s photograph on its own did not lead Watson and Crick to their famous discovery; it was one piece of the puzzle. What offended Sayre was that Watson’s telling had robbed Rosalind of her true personality. He had warped her to create a familiar stereotype, casting her as the “wicked fairy” in a cautionary tale about a bright woman who dares to think there is a place for her in science.
