In Puritan Massachusetts the key word was suspicion. In order to be accepted, by the community, you had to be a member of the 'elect,' destined for a spot in the eternity of heaven. In order to be member of this elite group of 'selected' individuals you had to be free of sin and evil. It goes without saying, that you could never be caught conjuring the devil, as is illustrated by the horrors …
showed first 75 words of 1985 total

showed last 75 words of 1985 total
…It portrays a man who had to endure great sorrow through no apparent flaw of his own. This, however, is not the case. Rather in this last confrontation Hawthorne is pointing out a reason for the demise of Giovanni, and at the same time rebuking the always nosy, and homiletic Puritans. Giovanni got in trouble for being too meddlesome. He had to know whether Beatrice was good or evil, and that brought about his downfall.