instead of the other way around. He persuaded her to see herself as an animal instead of as what she had been told she was—the image-bearing queen of the universe, a principality and power over the beasts. At the same time the serpent was treating his queen as a fellow animal, he also subtly led her to see herself as more than an empress—as a goddess. He auditioned her for her role as deity by leading her to act like a god, distinguishing autonomously between good and evil, deciding when she and her