دانشگاه شهید بهشتی نقد زبان و ادبیات خارجی 20087330 23 36 2026 03 21 Female Subjectivity Formation in Jeanette Winterson’s Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal Female Subjectivity Formation in Jeanette Winterson’s Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal 45 53 106716 10.48308/clls.2026.242926.1416 FA هادی شاهی قره آغاجی استادیار،‌ دانشگاه زنجان معصومه جنت نیا دانشجوی دکتری،‌ گروه ادبیات انگلیسی، دانشکده ادبیات و زبانهای خارجی، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی واحد تبریز، تبریز، ایران Journal Article 2025 12 17 Jenette Winterson, postmodern iconoclastic writer, posits the concept of ‘self’ as the central challenge of her female characters. Her autobiographical novel, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal, depicts contemporary woman’s solo quest to achieve her true self and construct her desired subjectivity. Portrayal of female subjectivity in Winterson’s text goes well with the figuration of nomadic female subjectivity in Rosi Braidotti;s feminist philosophy. Braidotti by employing the concept of “nomadic subjectivity” has contributed to the critique of identity, she notices the velocity of changes in the twenty first century and challenges the issue of identity and emphasizes that we need to know who we want become rather than who we are. Winterson in her story represents a positive and prosperous image of a woman who in the search of her true self, finds out that her subjectivity is a matter of construction and becoming not an essence given to her by her biological or adopted parents. This study traces the process of becoming a free female thinking subject through Winterson’s Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal in Rosi Braidotti’s nomadic subjectivity theoretical framework and tends to conclude that all women are at the threshold of becoming a free female thinking subject, but only women who acquire knowledge and intellectuality are apt to transgress phallocentrism and constitute their independent subjectivity. Jenette Winterson, postmodern iconoclastic writer, posits the concept of ‘self’ as the central challenge of her female characters. Her autobiographical novel, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal, depicts contemporary woman’s solo quest to achieve her true self and construct her desired subjectivity. Portrayal of female subjectivity in Winterson’s text goes well with the figuration of nomadic female subjectivity in Rosi Braidotti;s feminist philosophy. Braidotti by employing the concept of “nomadic subjectivity” has contributed to the critique of identity, she notices the velocity of changes in the twenty first century and challenges the issue of identity and emphasizes that we need to know who we want become rather than who we are. Winterson in her story represents a positive and prosperous image of a woman who in the search of her true self, finds out that her subjectivity is a matter of construction and becoming not an essence given to her by her biological or adopted parents. This study traces the process of becoming a free female thinking subject through Winterson’s Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal in Rosi Braidotti’s nomadic subjectivity theoretical framework and tends to conclude that all women are at the threshold of becoming a free female thinking subject, but only women who acquire knowledge and intellectuality are apt to transgress phallocentrism and constitute their independent subjectivity. https://clls.sbu.ac.ir/article_106716_4bed53be669c0b6ff381a52cd64f8408.pdf