What is the "religious ceremony" Harding performs the night of the party?

• A. Harding gets pills for Sefelt and imitates a religious ceremony, sprinkling them over Sefelt and Sandy. He says they are "doomed henceforth"
• B. Harding leads a dawn prayer circle in the chapel
• C. Harding baptizes a patient with water from a bottle
• D. Harding sings a hymn with the patients

Answer: (A)

Harding’s moment is about using ritual to impose meaning and a sense of sacred order in a tense, controlled environment. He orchestrates a pretend religious ceremony by obtaining pills for Sefelt and, in a ritual gesture, sprinkling them over Sefelt and Sandy, declaring they are “doomed henceforth.” This shows his tendency to mix religious imagery with the power dynamics of the ward, turning a private, spiritual impulse into a performative act that also mirrors the hospital’s control over the patients.

The other options don’t fit what happens here because there isn’t a real dawn prayer, a baptism with water, or singing a hymn in this scene. The moment centers on the pill-based ritual and the ominous pronouncement, not on genuine religious practice.