Mrs. Putnam (full of breath, shiny-eyed). It is a marvel. It is surely a stroke of hell upon you.
Parris. No, Goody Putnam, it is--
Mrs. Putnam (glancing at Betty). How high did she fly, how high?
Parris. No, no, she never flew--
Mrs. Putnam (very pleased with it). Why, it's sure she did. Mr. Collins saw her goin' over Ingersoll's barn, and come down light as bird, he says!
Mrs. Putnam is "very pleased" with the misfortune of Parris. She thinks that Betty has been involved in witchcraft, so she will be punished, and so will Parris because his reputation will be destroyed. In both The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter, the civilians of the Puritan society are pleased with other peoples misfortunes. For example, in The Scarlet Letter, some women are happy that Hester was being punished. People delight in each other's punishments.
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