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 the town-beadle, in contrast to community religious leaders.