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Haley Le
Mrs. Denomme
AP Lang and Comp
4 September 2013
Misogynistic Undertones
in Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
In Ken Kesey's classic novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the confined world of an
insane asylum is revealed through the mind of Chief Bromden, a paranoid mental patient.
The ward is ultimately run by Nurse Ratched, who according to Bromden, controls the process of
turning men into machines where the men lose their sexual dignity and masculinity. Most of the
male patients have already been traumatized by past affairs with overpowering women. With the
exception of the prostitutes, the women in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest are portrayed as
terrorizing figures. As a result, a central theme throughout the novel is the fear of women: the
root of misogyny. Misogynistic undertones become prevalent when two extreme types of women
are introduced: the all fearing castrator and the weak, submissive prostitute; Kesey's treatment of
these women ultimately affects the impact and meaning of the novel.
The central figure in this feminine dominancy is Nurse Ratched: the ball-cutter. She can
be described as an "evil mother who wishes to keep and control her little boys under her system
of mechanical surveillance and mind control" (Vitkus 66). Kesey suggests that Nurse Ratched
needs to control others in order to gain power, portraying the disposition of the 1960s feminist
movement. She uses her therapeutic group sessions where she provokes confessions such as I
robbed a cash register in a service station (51) and I tried to take my little sister to bed (51).
Her domination is based on how the patients view themselves: as less than men. McMurphy
recognizes this and tries to make them more confident by telling jokes to humor them and

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reviving their manhood with prostitutes. As the men tread the road to self-confidence, their view
of women becomes undeveloped and misogynistic. They start to see women with high authority
as the enemy and misidentify their source of oppression. Soon enough, their hostile verbal
expression leads to physical violence. McMurphy repeatedly breaks the Big Nurse's glass
window and even an Acute follows suit by breaking the window with a basketball. McMurphy
eventually attacks her, ripping open her uniform and exposing her breasts, essentially raping her.
As the rape occurs it is noted that all the men wanted it to happen. No one tries to help, not even
the workers, suggesting that this was a collective act. The Chief says "We couldn't stop him
because we were the ones making him do it" (318). The violation to Nurse Ratched's body was
the most violent form of misogyny - a rape - and was justified as an inevitable conclusion. After
the act was committed, McMurphy was made out to be a sacrificial hero to the readers.
Another extreme type of women is presented in the novel: the whore. Kesey introduces
Candy Starr, an attractive, cheerful prostitute, acting as a foil to Nurse Ratched. In contrast to the
Big Nurse, Candy symbolizes sexual freedom from the nurse's strict and asexual governing.
Through sex with Candy, Billy briefly regains his confidence and fixes his stutter: "'Good
Morning, Miss Ratched,' Billy said. He took the girl's hand in his and grinned. 'This is Candy.'"
(313). This act symbolically resurrects his manhood. Although the novel places these type of
women in a positive light to the readers, they are actually helpless otherwise in dealing with men.
This becomes apparent when Candy is harassed at the docks by men. They call out to her Hey
Blondie; my relatives wouldn't sue. I promise. Stay here with us fellows, Blondie (243).
Without the help of anyone, she basically becomes nothing and helpless. Thus Kesey presents the
prostitutes as not real people, but mere objects.

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Nurse Ratched and Candy Starr's complementary characters were intentionally created to
demonstrate what too much power contrasted to a lack of power could do to various social
groups (Kemble 6). Kesey uses women as an example of an "oppressed social group that has
been growing in order to show social revenge and control" (Kemble 6). Furthermore, to
symbolize society's fight for nature and sexual freedom against social repression, he creates a
war not between sexes, but the more positive masculine qualities and the more negative feminine
qualities. This allows Kesey to express a battle of good versus evil in which the fundamental
virtue is masculinity. However, through this method, he reinforces gender stereotypes, suggesting
that both emasculated men and powerful women are unusual, thus supporting a typical
patriarchal role.
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest displays two extreme, negative types of females; their
characteristics and treatment clearly affect the meaning and impact of the novel as a whole.
Kesey presents Nurse Ratched, the terrifying castrator, who symbolizes oppression and the
consequences of excessive power. He then introduces a foil to Nurse Ratched, a prostitute named
Candy Starr, who represents sexual freedom but also the effects of impotence. He places his
story within a modern matriarchy to use "womens fierce desire to step outside of their
stereotypical bondage as the restrictive force upon other social groups" (Kemble 6). By forming
a good versus evil scenario using masculine and feminine qualities, Kesey represents a biased
attitude of the prejudice during the feminist movement. Although the novel generally promotes a
natural male dominance, as illustrated through the opposition to a domineering emasculating
representation of the female, Kesey reminds the readers that in the face of social control, the
sexes are equal despite the power struggle at hand.

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Works Cited
Kemble, Jasmine. Created Equal. 9 May 2010: 1-7. Print.
Kesey, Ken. One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, a Novel. New York: Viking, 1962. Print.
Vitkus, Daniel J. "Madness and Misogyny in Ken Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's
Nest." Journal of Comparative Poetics 14 (1994): 64-90. Print.