CYBORG SUBJECTIVITIES AND HYPERTEXTUAL FEMINISM IN SHELLEY JACKSON'S PATCHWORK GIRL
This paper examines Shelley Jackson's hypertext novel Patchwork Girl (1995) as a seminal work of electronic literature that enacts a sophisticated feminist epistemology through its fragmented, non-linear architecture. Situating the novel at the intersection of feminist theory, posthumanism, and digital narratology, this study argues that Jackson's hypertextual form does not merely represent fragmented female identity but performs it constructing subjectivity as an open-ended, reader-assembled assemblage rather than a coherent, fixed self. The paper draws upon Donna Haraway's cyborg ontology, N. Katherine Hayles's theorisation of posthuman embodiment, Rosi Braidotti's nomadic posthuman feminism, Espen Aarseth's concept of ergodic literature, and George Landow's hypertext theory to analyse how Patchwork Girl's lexia structure, link architecture, and navigational aesthetics collectively produce a radical critique of patriarchal identity formations. Through close reading of key lexia clusters including the Graveyard, the Quilt, and the Body sections alongside interface analysis and sustained engagement with Jackson's companion essay 'Stitch Bitch' (2003) and the novel's primary lexia, the paper demonstrates that scars function as hyperlinks, bodies as texts, and reader navigation as an act of feminist authorship. Crucially, the study argues that Jackson's declaration 'Hypertext then, is what literature has edited out: the feminine' constitutes not merely a polemical claim but a structural proposition that her novel's every navigational pathway enacts. In doing so, this study contributes to emerging debates within feminist digital humanities, electronic literature studies, and posthuman theory, arguing that Patchwork Girl constitutes not only a landmark digital artefact but a theoretical intervention in its own right.
Parmar, D. (2026). Cyborg Subjectivities and Hypertextual Feminism in Shelley Jackson's Patchwork Girl. International Journal of Science, Strategic Management and Technology, 02(04). https://doi.org/10.55041/ijsmt.v2i4.571
Parmar, Dhatri. "Cyborg Subjectivities and Hypertextual Feminism in Shelley Jackson's Patchwork Girl." International Journal of Science, Strategic Management and Technology, vol. 02, no. 04, 2026, pp. . doi:https://doi.org/10.55041/ijsmt.v2i4.571.
Parmar, Dhatri. "Cyborg Subjectivities and Hypertextual Feminism in Shelley Jackson's Patchwork Girl." International Journal of Science, Strategic Management and Technology 02, no. 04 (2026). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.55041/ijsmt.v2i4.571.