In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey portrays women as extremely negative, either dominant or submissive. Nurse Ratched, Vera Harding and Billy's mother control women who use fear to rule over men and mask their feminine qualities. Candy Starr and Sandy Gilfilliam, on the other hand, are prostitutes who submit to the objectification of men. Nurse Ratched masks her feminine qualities while the other women emphasize their sexual availability. Apart from a balanced woman, the anonymous Japanese nurse in the ward for disturbed people, Kesey's women are extreme and negative characters. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Nurse Ratched defeminizes herself and subjugates men's masculinity. Her attempts to defeat men are ironic because she herself is trying to embody masculine characteristics. McMurphy's observation illustrates its effect on men: "No, the nurse ain't some kind of monstrous chicken, mate, what she is is a ball-cutter" (57). Symbolic language like "bullet cutter" is a metaphor because men know the degree of pain associated with groin injuries. Although the nurse does not physically harm the men; his actions harm their mentality. This destruction is illustrated by Harding's comment: "She is selfless as the wind, working without gratitude for the good of all, day after day, five long days a week" (58). This quote represents the devastation of men's ability to decipher manipulative activities. The men in the ward have become accustomed to Nurse Ratched and view her tyrannical attitude as benevolent leadership. However, McMurphy is perceptive towards Nurse Ratched due to her life adventures of work and play. He is also a new member of the service and feigns mental illness in order to escape a work sentence on a farm. Even the patients recognize that Nurse Ratched makes the men feel inadequate; Harding, for example, says: "Dr. Spivey is just like the rest of us, McMurphy, completely aware of his inadequacy" (59). She belittles the men by first using peaceful words and ending with hurtful intentions: “Hello, Mr. Harding – well, look, the tips of your fingers are red and raw. Are you still biting your nails? (90). She further proves her villainy towards men when she displays Chronics as a reminder of what can happen to the Acutes. Vera Harding, Dale Harding's wife, differs from Nurse Ratched in that she uses her physical appearance and sexuality to intimidate Harding. Coming to visit him, she flirts and blows a kiss to the black boy. This behavior leaves Harding feeling sexually insecure and vulnerable. When he shows his happiness, she remarks, "Dale, when are you going to learn to laugh instead of making that little mousey squeak?" (158). This direct insult shatters his ego because it rips away his personality and humor. She continues her insults by saying, "Oh Dale, you can't get enough, can you?" (158). Harding understands that this is a reference to his sexual inadequacy, and he becomes a character to be pitied. By provoking her husband, Vera put him in a nervous state. Vera shows her domineering attitude in a different way from the cold Big Nurse. Vera Harding also exploits her husband's homosexuality. The novel gives good reason to believe that Harding is a closeted gay, in part through what Vera says about him – for example, stating that she wishes..