In previous posts on Cuckoo’s Nest, people thought carefully about what it means to experience the novel’s events as narrated by Bromden, who has experienced a range of emotional trauma and possibly some kind of brain damage–or at least fogginess–from shock treatments. At the same time, he has a well-articulated view of what the psychiatric hospital is designed to do, the way in which it’s part of the “combine”. How does another character seem to see the role of the hospital in the larger world? You could think of Ratched, McMurphy, one of several other patients, or even the aides who work on the ward.
4 thoughts on “Cuckoo’s Nest II”
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Had I not read these comments, I would not have considered viewing Ms. Ratched through a more nuanced lens. Kesey, I think, does not leave much space for such a reading: she is presented as an malicious, unsympathetic character who maintains her role through evil ways. I cannot think of a moment in the novel that humanizes her. I agree that, in the characters’, and perhaps also the author’s subconscious minds, part of her perceived evil stems from her being a women trying to run a man’s world. In the end, she fails to do so: her cruel actions catch up with her and most of the ward leaves. Her use of McMurphy’s body as a warning sign for the consequences of disrespecting her is cut short. Has she been driven to her evil ways and her ultimate failure to maintain control by the persistent inability of men (most of whom voluntarily committed themselves to the ward) to allow themselves to be controlled by a woman? I’m not sure, but I would be surprised if this possibility had crossed Kesey’s mind. Through his black and white portrayal of Ratched, he gives the reader little room to consider this possibility.
I’ve been struggling to really think about Nurse Ratched. Obviously, we are supposed to view her negatively. Throughout the novel, she herself seems to present her management of the ward as being guided by patients’ needs, but through Chief Bromden’s perspective, we are to understand that that is essentially just an excuse she uses to maintain complete and total control. Much of the treatment of Nurse Ratched is misogynistic; I believe it is Harding who essentially says their world is so horrible in part because it is a matriarchy. Because of that, I’m trying to push my understanding of her character. Is she a well-intentioned person who gets the care of her patients completely wrong? Or is she purely evil? Or, finally, is there room for both readings? It’s hard not to think of one who advocates for EST or lobotomies as nothing more than evil, but in the context of our discussion surrounding misguided treatment of the mentally ill, I’m trying to look for room for a more generous reading of the character and her vision of the hospital’s role in the larger world.
Yes, I completely I agree with this. I also think it would be interesting to look further into the character of Nurse Ratched, especially in terms of the fact that the only way she is described is through the male eye. When we are first introduced to her in the first chapter of the novel, the description we gain is mostly physical. She is described as harsh, with orange nails and an orange mouth; however, Bromden makes a point to mention her large bosom. Immediately, the Nurse is sexualized, even if it is not in a positive way. At another point in the novel, the men sit around talking about women, picking on certain patients for their lack of sexual ability, and discussing rape as a means of power. The novel at its base is an extremely male-centered novel, especially when it comes to the discussion of women. Other than Nurse Ratched, the only other prominent female characters are the prostitutes. It would be interesting to further discuss the presence of sexuality, gender, and power in the novel. My response was slightly off-topic of the original question, but I agree that we cannot completely understand the character of Nurse Ratched and her intentions, because she is only described in a male-centered community. Reliability could be a huge issue in discussion of characters in the novel.
I agree that the novel is extremely gendered. Ratched defies gender roles in a way because she exemplifies the authoritarianism, self-control, and tenacity–characteristics often associated with men–and lacks female nurturance and warmth. Her distance from the feminine is further highlighted when Bromden talks about her body. Unlike the prostitute who is fetishized due to her voluptuous figure, Bromden notes that Nurse Ratched’s breasts are incompatible with her overall masculine character and thus invoke disgust. Ultimately, her “evil” seems to derive from her “failure” at femininity, her inability to really be the ideal woman. I think Nina’s right in saying that in the eyes of the patients, one of the most horrible things about the asylum is that it’s emasculating. After Harding gets shamed at a group meeting, McMurphy tells Harding that Ratched is “a ball cutter” (58). Ratched adds insult to injury in a way because all of the patients already feel emasculated by their mental illness. Harding consistently notes that he and the other patients were “weak” or “rabbits” in society even before Ratched came along. This is highlighted again when they watch the prostitute get berated by the men at the docks and don’t do anything. They consistently feel shame for their feminine timidity. I think ultimately, the asylum and Nurse Ratched are seen as some kind of punishment for the men who could not be “MEN.” The men decide not to leave the hospital because they believe they will never be men by society’s standards. They’ll never live up to the masculine toughness that McMurphy embodies, so they let themselves stay trapped in this matriarchal holding bin controlled by a “failed” feminine figure so they don’t have to face their own “failed” masculinity.