What is the novel saying about the role of women? The novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey, is saying that women are like castrators. Women are portrayed in the novel as powerful, dominating, emasculating and disabling. The novel looks at the power women have over men. These viewpoints are illustrated through the character Nurse Ratched and the control she has over the male characters and through some patients and their personal …showed first 75 words of 1397 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1397 total…patients of her ward. They lose their sense of humanity believing that they are rabbits and feel belittled and worthless. Men like Dale Harding, Billy Bibbit and Chief Bromden have all been left with deep scars due to the over-powering presence of the women in their lives. Dale Harding has homosexual tendencies, Billy Bibbit stutters and is insecure and Bromden hallucinates. The above are all examples of the castrating role women play in this novel.