One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Feminist Analysis

Throughout “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” Ken Kesey builds up a feud between Randle McMurphy and Nurse Ratched to establish the novel’s climatic attack, a sexist exemplification that powerful women must be subjugated. Women are depicted as emasculators and castrators. The male patients seem to agree with Dale Harding, who states “We are victims of matriarchy here” (56). The patients correlate matriarchy with castration and mutilation, illustrating the dullness and repressiveness of the hospital as a result of a female dominator. The majority of the men in Nurse Ratched’s psychiatric ward have been damaged by relationships with dominant women. For instance, Chief claimed his mother became “Bigger than Papa and me together” (188). Similarly, Billy Bibbit was so afraid of his mother discovering that he engaged in sexual intercourse with Candy that he commit suicide.

Nurse Ratched is undeniably the most powerful woman in the novel, ruling the ward with an iron fist and emasculating the men.

Ken Kesey portrayed her as a power-hungry, malicious mad woman. She enjoys having complete control over the patients of the psychiatric ward and forcing them to conform to her authority. While McMurphy and the other patients are speculating how to aggravate the nurse, Harding infers “So you see my friend, it is somewhat as you stated: man has but one truly effective weapon against the juggernaut of modern matriarchy... One weapon, and with every passing year in this hip, motivationally researched society, more and more people are discovering how to render that weapon useless and conquer those who have hitherto been conquerors” (64). Kesey reveals his opinion that a woman’s invulnerability is a man’s genitals. These crude ideas are given essence as the novel progresses. Kesey showcases McMurphy’s sanity through his bold sexuality, such as when he provokes Nurse Ratched by wearing nothing but a towel, notes on her bosom,

etc.
The patients often criticize Nurse Ratched for her modesty, even going so far as to demonize her as a “ball-cutter” (54). McMurphy’s statement signifies his fear of Ratched’s power over them and of emasculation. McMurphy is most likely the leader of the Acutes because he can assert his male sexuality against female power. Knowing that Nurse Ratched puts tons of effort in to conceal her breasts, McMurphy tears off her uniform to reveal them, forcing her femininity on her and therefore horrifying her. McMurphy takes away her female power from her to restore his own. The men all believed that the only way to achieve victory is by sexually violating the nurse. Kesey proved Harding’s point about sexual violation being a woman’s vulnerability; once Nurse Ratched returned from the hospital after being “raped” by McMurphy, she cannot regain her control of the ward.
The misogynistic tone of the text rejects female authorization because it creates a division between the male patients and the nurse. The only two women portrayed as kind are the two prostitutes- Sandy and Candy. Kesey depicts the two prostitutes favorably, considering that they empower the men. Women who read this are apt to get offended at Kesey’s interpretation of them. Kesey fails to welcome a woman who is powerful without being so open. Kesey’s treatment of the women promotes sexist views in order to heighten male power and influence an anti-feminist viewpoint.