In the poem the woman was being kind to the snake. Took it home, revived it, fed it, etc.
(there are probably a lot of men/snakes who wish such a pretty/smart woman was kind to them)
“Maybe Hicks wasn’t the angel we think her to be.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
FWIW, also recall admonition that we should stop thinking in terms of “Bad” “Good” etc., but to think in terms of “Leverage.”
Even good people can be leveraged into doing what we might call bad actions. I have suspended my impulse to judge in this situation. I simply do not have enough data, and frankly at this time, it does not appear to be a rabbit hole I am called to dig into in order to acquire it.
Maybe she’s lilly white - maybe not. I do hope she is. But on this one I elect to hide and watch. Firmly praying for the will of God in the situation as it unfolds.