Posthuman Subjectivity and the Fragility of Being in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun

Tuncer Yılmaz; Fatmanur Kalkan

Posthuman Subjectivity and the Fragility of Being in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun

Abstract

Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun presents the fragility of being as a shared ethical condition across human and artificial life. Drawing on Haraway’s cyborg metaphor, Braidotti’s posthuman subject, and Hayles’s theories of embodiment and technogenesis, the analysis shows how Klara’s sensory perception, relational identity, and emotional responsiveness challenge human-centred models of subjectivity. Situated within a literary tradition of artificial figures, Ishiguro’s narrative departs from earlier examples by granting an artificial being narrative authority and ethical interiority. Klara’s involvement in Josie’s precarious mortality and Chrissie’s replacement fantasy interrogates the limits of transhumanist attempts to perpetuate identity beyond biological life. By foregrounding embodiment and distributed cognition, Ishiguro suggests that vulnerability, rather than autonomy or durability, grounds ethical relation. In rethinking posthuman subjectivity, Klara’s experiences ultimately reveal that fragility, care, and mutual recognition form the basis of ethical life in a technologically mediated world. Taken together, this article offers a posthumanist perspective that deepens critical engagement with Ishiguro’s novel and contributes to broader discussions of embodiment, ethics, and technological coexistence.

Keywords

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

British and Irish Language, Literature and Culture

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Tuncer Yılmaz ^*
0000-0001-6585-8284
Türkiye

Fatmanur Kalkan
0000-0002-8030-6610
Türkiye

Publication Date

January 26, 2026

Submission Date

September 11, 2025

Acceptance Date

December 15, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Number: 5

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA25EG43KT

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Yılmaz, T., & Kalkan, F. (2026). Posthuman Subjectivity and the Fragility of Being in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun. Overtones Ege Journal of English Studies, 5, 161-169. https://izlik.org/JA25EG43KT

AMA

1.Yılmaz T, Kalkan F. Posthuman Subjectivity and the Fragility of Being in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun. Overtones. 2026;(5):161-169. https://izlik.org/JA25EG43KT

Chicago

Yılmaz, Tuncer, and Fatmanur Kalkan. 2026. “Posthuman Subjectivity and the Fragility of Being in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun”. Overtones Ege Journal of English Studies, nos. 5: 161-69. https://izlik.org/JA25EG43KT.

EndNote

Yılmaz T, Kalkan F (January 1, 2026) Posthuman Subjectivity and the Fragility of Being in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun. Overtones Ege Journal of English Studies 5 161–169.

IEEE

[1]T. Yılmaz and F. Kalkan, “Posthuman Subjectivity and the Fragility of Being in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun”, Overtones, no. 5, pp. 161–169, Jan. 2026, [Online]. Available: https://izlik.org/JA25EG43KT

ISNAD

Yılmaz, Tuncer - Kalkan, Fatmanur. “Posthuman Subjectivity and the Fragility of Being in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun”. Overtones Ege Journal of English Studies. 5 (January 1, 2026): 161-169. https://izlik.org/JA25EG43KT.

JAMA

1.Yılmaz T, Kalkan F. Posthuman Subjectivity and the Fragility of Being in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun. Overtones. 2026;:161–169.

MLA

Yılmaz, Tuncer, and Fatmanur Kalkan. “Posthuman Subjectivity and the Fragility of Being in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun”. Overtones Ege Journal of English Studies, no. 5, Jan. 2026, pp. 161-9, https://izlik.org/JA25EG43KT.

Vancouver

1.Tuncer Yılmaz, Fatmanur Kalkan. Posthuman Subjectivity and the Fragility of Being in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun. Overtones [Internet]. 2026 Jan. 1;(5):161-9. Available from: https://izlik.org/JA25EG43KT