Gender Roles In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

Most of the time women are used to symbolize life and pureness. Mothers are the literal representation of selflessness. Wives are the caregivers of the family, the foundation of the family. Not in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey. Women are the source of evil and corruptness. Mothers doom their children by abandoning them and wives are selfish. Only a select few females are viewed as positively. Females in this novel are necessary for the plot. The female roles in the novel function to show readers a corrupted society in the asylum, affecting the males, showing how bodies can control and showing Kesey’s messages about a woman’s behavior.

Martrichary is an important theme of this book because it could be one the reason of McMurphy’s

revolution. Matriarchy is shown through the control of Big Nurse and various other women throughout the story. Women commonly have the upperhand in the society of the asylum by using actions that overpower and control men. Critic Sonya Yvette Alvarado agrees with this fact: “The political structure of the asylum reflects a complete reversal of patriarchal society.” (354). Outside of the asylum men tend to have more power than women but inside the asylum a woman, Big Nurse, has literal control over everything. Since McMurphy is the newcomer to the asylum, the society inside of the asylum might be the cause of McMurphy’s anger and rage towards Ratched. Literary critic, Roshanak Pashaee asks, “The critics, … interested to know whether McMurphy would have fought with the same rage, at the expense of his own life, had the tyrannical Miss Ratched been a tyrannical Mr. Ratched” (210). This thoughtful point provokes the question of what is the true cause of McMurphy’s desire to overthrow Ratched. He tirelessly tries to instill manhood in the patients of the asylum but for what reason? He can easily leave the asylum himself so why does he desperately desires to create a revolution? Many critics believe it is because of the amount of power Big Nurse has over numerous men. Pashaee also agree with this point: “However, he has something against the unfeminine woman who holds power over him.” (212). His image of how women should be is shattered by Ratched. The women he has befriended, Candy and Sandy, are the complete opposite of what Ratched is. Unlike Ratched, Candy and Sandy express their sexuality and shows it off. Literary critic Robert P. Wexler agrees that the matriarchy is a fuel for the men’s anger: “Like Kesey, … main character who feels his manhood is challenged by a matriarchy” (234). Additionally, McMurphy acts differently through different ways of authority. For example, the doctor does have authority over McMurphy but McMurphy befriends him. Is it because of the distant highschool connection or simply because he is a man? The way McMurphy acts around the Doctor might be another sign that he had internal hatred towards women who overpower him. Overall, the asylum’s society gives females the power to control men.
Big Nurse is an interesting character with unique actions.

Her portrayal is vital for the plot of this book. She is generally the opposite of a stereotypical woman who is supposed to submissive, caring and motherly. Normally a female character with power is viewed as powerful or inspiring but Miss Ratched does not have that effect. Literary critic Manuel Muñoz further describes her, “The novel swiftly renders Nurse Ratched not as a powerful woman, but more as a networked monster.” (669). The way she acts is all calculated like she can predict the future of each patients. She can twist even the most motivated and rebellious mind in the asylum, McMurphy, into her control. Her planned actions through letting the men win some battles ultimately lead to her victory of destroying McMurphy. Miss Ratched knows that she will always win. This is shown in her meeting with the other members, “‘No. I don’t agree. Not at all.’ She smiles around at all of the. ‘I don’t agree that he should be sent up to Disturbed,” She nonchalantly smiles and shuts down all of the other members worries of this new patient. She sees him as a new challenge for her and controlling him will be fun. Her current patients are the one most needed of care to improve their situation. Her unmotherly actions is the opposite of what her jobs is asking for. Manuel Muñoz states, “Part of Nurse Ratched’s magnetic presence in this novel is her mystery, her existence in the world as a person willing to display a coldly

insincere concern that, nevertheless, gets eaten up by the neediest as genuine care.” (670). In the novel, many backstories of characters are revealed but Nurse Ratched’s past is remained a mystery. This could have been made on purpose to give her a mysterious aura. To sum up, Nurse Ratched’s personality is vital for the novel’s plot.
Nurse Ratched’s effect on the men of the asylum is different from any other character in the book. She is the only one with full power of all of the men. The mothers and wives only have power to control their certain men but Ratched can manipulate all of them successfully. She knows how to hurt people where it hurts most. In the novel it states, “Mrs. Bibbit’s always been so proud of your discretion. I know she has. This is going to disturb her terribly. You know how she is when she gets disturbed. Billy; you know how ill the poor woman can become. She’s very sensitive. Especially concerning her son, She always spoke so proudly of you.” (Kesey 264). She knows that Billy Bibbit cares for his mother dearly so she uses it to drive him insane because of the shame he feels. Her manipulation of Bibbit eventually makes him commit suicide. His suicide then effects McMurphy by providing a fuel to enrage him. In a way, Ratched successfully overpowered two men through one action. Moreover, Big Nurse knows how to diminish manhood in each man. This is show especially in Chief Bromden before he meets McMurphy. Before the asylum, Chief was strong and masculine but then Nurse Ratched chipped him down to nothing. Literary critic Diane Telgen states, “He fears for his masculinity at first, then realizes that he just wants to touch him because of who he is and what he means to all of men on the ward.” (236). Chief was afraid of being strong because Big Nurse turned him away from the thought of being it. She makes him feel miniscule and worthless. She strays him away from being strong because if he’s stronger she won’t be able to control him. Not only does she make him physically weak, she makes him mentally powerless. Chief does not have the ability to overthrow Ratched’s rule until McMurphy shows him his potential. She does this by steering him away from this ideology and manipulating him into her control. Big Nurse’s effect on the men are one of the main points in the novel because it makes them feel worthless.
The wives in this novel are portrayed in negative way such as selfish and controlling.

Kesey uses certain women in the book to stereotype wives. For example, Harding’s wife is the prime example of a wife who is uncommitted. This is shown in this quote, “look here who comes to visit you. I tole her it wun’t visitin’ hours but you know she jus’ sweet-talk me into bringin’ her right on over here anyhow.” He leaves her standing in front of Harding and goes off,...” (157). The way Mrs. Harding casually flirts with the guards show that this is common practice to her. Since Mr. Harding is not with her for the majority of time she does not feel the need to be committed to one man. This one action shows how wives in general are uncommitted to their husbands. Literary expert Sonya Alvarado concurs, “The attitude of the wife and the position and appearance of Harding all set up the idea in advance that she dominates the relationship and cares more for her own pleasures than Harding’s well-being” (355). This representation of wives give the effect that wives only want what they want and will do anything to get what they want. Another example of an antagonistic wife is Mrs. Bromden, Chief’s mother. She is the controlling type of woman who shrinks the men around her to nothing. This is shown when Chief is talking about his mother, “My mother got twice his size” (Kesey 168). Physically this may have been impossible but she accomplished in overwhelming him. Chief’s father, Tee Ah

Millatoona (The Pine That Stands Tallest on the Mountain), was one of the most venerable man Chief knew. His father had so much power until the white people took his land because of his wife. His wife took everything from him because of her selfish wants. Alvarado also agrees, “... the female as a dominating force is … Mrs. Bromden, She completely obliterates her husband’s names, heritage, homeland, and, symbolically, his physical size” (357). She took everything away from him and controlled him. Even though she is only mentioned in the novel through flashbacks she is still impactful. Her role in the novel is to basically destroy Chief’s manhood. To summarize, wives in this novel are viewed as a negative addition to the males.
Mothers are the true abandoners in this novel. They abandon their children to the evil replacement mother, Ratched. Billy Bibbit’s mother abandons her helpless son to embrace her youthfulness. This is another case of selfishness. She left her son to another uncaring woman to nurture him. Alvarado states, Billy’s mom proved to be a castrating bitch … abandoned her pup, Billy, to the surrogate mother, Nurse Ratched. Ratched’s job is to emasculate Billy and keep from growing up, yet another inversion of natural maternal duties” (360). The mothers in this book are portrayed as doing the opposite of their job for selfish wants like trying to be young. Generally speaking, mothers are usually portrayed as a beautiful angel who can be relied on in other outlets of media. The negative representation showcases how women are the antagonist in the novel.
The symbols in the book that are given from women represents how sexualized they are. The most common symbol of women are their breasts. Constantly there are mentions of breasts. It’s like the male patients only notice the breasts. Breasts are the symbol of power and control. Some women use it to control the men while others are left powerless because of the lack of it. There is one particular nurse who feels powerless. Alvarado states, “She is the ultimate asexual being. With no large breasts as weapons against men, she is, in her own mind, open to attack” (354). She cannot make the patients listen to her because they are not interested in her. The nurses only have control when the patients are interested. To sum up, power is only with breasts
With the portrayal of women there is a clear message Kesey is giving to woman. There only a few positive female characters, Candy, Sandy and the little japanese nurse. All of them do some kind of favor to the men and comply to men. Candy and Sandy give their bodies to please the men while th japanese nurse understand the men. Critic Diane Telgen agrees, “an angel of mercy… the little Japanese nurse. She accepts woman’s time-honored role as nurturer of men and agrees with McMurphy that sexual starvation prompts Miss Ratched’s perversity.” (238). The nurse accepts the fact that was a women should will have to serve men. This gives the message that women should be for men’s pleasures.
To sum up, women represent important parts of the novel including, society, power and meaning of the book. The matriarchy controlled by Big Nurse is a crucial setting for the novel. The control of the women could be the root of all evil in this novel. Kesey could be using this novel to say that women should act under the power of men or else society will be corrupt.