"As for Rebecca, the general opinion of her character was so high that to explain how anyone dared cry her out for a witch - and more, how adults could bring themselves to lay hands on her - we must look to the fields and boundaries of that time." (151)

Just like Reverend Dimmesdale in the Scarlet Letter, people who's names are known for what they have done are less prone to be suspected as a evildoer.