Excerpt from The Scarlet Letter
Nathanael Hawthorne
(1) The door of the jail being flung open from within there appeared in the first place, like a black shadow emerging into
sunshine, the grim and grisly presence of the town-beadle, with a sword by his side, and his staff of office in his hand. This
personage prefigured and represented in his aspect the whole dismal severity of the Puritanic code of law, which it was his
business to administer in its final and closest application to the offender. Stretching forth the official staff in his left hand, he
laid his right upon the shoulder of a young woman, whom he thus drew forward, until, on the threshold of the prison-door, she
repelled him, by an action marked with natural dignity and force of character, and stepped into the open air as if by her own free
will. She bore in her arms a child, a baby of some three months old, who winked and turned aside its little face from the too vivid
light of day, because its existence, heretofore, had brought it acquaintance only with the grey twilight of a dungeon, or other
darksome apartment of the prison.
Which BEST explains why the author refers to the "Puritanic code of law" in the first paragraph?

A)Hawthorne uses the reference to establish a forgiving and loving
environment who greets the young woman.
B)Hawthorne uses the reference to ensure readers understand that heavenly
and earthly justice do not differ.
C)Hawthorne uses the reference to highlight a setting immersed in strict
religious principles and punishments.
D)Hawthorne uses the reference to illustrate the dominating authority of thetown-beadle, in contrast to community religious leaders.