Roberval was not merely an offended relative.

He was also the expedition commander, a man whose authority over the hundreds of people on those ships was essentially absolute during the voyage.

The maintenance of order and discipline was his responsibility, and he appears to have taken that responsibility seriously to the point of harshness — later accounts of his conduct as colonial governor describe him as a man who used corporal punishment and execution freely to maintain discipline among his colonists.

He had both personal motive and official authority to respond severely to what he saw as Marguerite’s transgression.