a desire to throw over reality a light...

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杨鹏难句（002，p27）：
A desire to throw over reality a light that never was might give way abruptly to the desire on the part of what we might consider a novelist-scientist to record exactly and concretely the structure and texture of a flower.

杨鹏的分析我不是太能理解。我觉得句子的结构应该是a desire might give way to the desire.
其中"that never was"的was=existed，所以全句应为：
A desire to throw over reality a light that never existed might give way abruptly to the desire on the part of what we might consider a novelist-scientist to record exactly and concretely the structure and texture of a flower.
杨鹏的分析我没有在语法书上找到依据：定语从句可以倒装，而且“弯弯绕”的倒装！？