Mildred ratched

A cold, heartless tyrant, Nurse Ratched has become the stereotype of the nurse as a battleaxe. She has also become a popular metaphor for the corrupting influence of institutional power and authority in bureaucracies such as the psychiatric treatment center in which the novel is set. In Ken Kesey's novel, Ratched "the Big Nurse" is described by Chief Bromden according to him: "She had a face that is smooth, calculated, and precision-made, like an expensive baby doll, skin like flesh-colored enamel which is a blend of white and cream, with baby-blue eyes, and a small nose with pink little nostrils. The only features that does not match Ratched's appearance are her lips and fingernails that are both an "odd" or "funny" red-orange, like the tip of a soldering iron, a color that looks so hot or so cold that if she touches someone with it, no one could tell which." She is also most noted for carrying breasts that are described as either "massive" or "over-sized". Ratched's uniform is a white, heavily starched, nurse attire that she uses to conceal her top-heavy bosom as she is ashamed and embittered of them. She wears her hair in a tight bun and high heels where she walks stiffly everywhere she goes, and sometimes carries a woven wicker bag that contains pills, needles, wire, and forceps. To everyone else, she is a dull-looking middle-aged woman and is mainly an intimidating nurse who comes off as a twisted maternal figure to her patients. Mildred Ratched is the main antagonist of the late Ken Kesey's 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and its 1975 film adaptation of the same name, as well as the titular villainous main protagonist of the 2020 TV series Ratched. She is the cold, sadistic head nurse of the Salem Oregon State Hospital, where she dominates her patients into submission with iron discipline and cruel punishments. She is also the archnemesis of Randle P. McMurphy, a free-spirited and rebellious patient who refuses to bend to her will.

She is often considered one of the greatest female villains in movie history, rivaling other popular characters such as Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction, Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity, and Mrs. Danvers in Rebecca. Ratched was named the fifth greatest villain in movie history by The American Film Institute, and she is often considered among the most hated characters in movie history. As head nurse, Ratched has control over medication, therapy, hygiene, recreation, among others. Her superiors esteem her for being one of the best nurses in the facility. Ratched is a firm believer in keeping people orderly, and will revoke any privileges they might have if they act out of line in any way. She keeps the patients in line by using their mental weaknesses, and encourages other patient to act is informants for her so that she can use sensitive information against a patient as she sees fit.