This thesis analyzes five short stories by Josip Kozarac – Biser-Kata, Tena, Donna Ines, Mira Kodolićeva and Oprava, each of which, in its own way, portrays an entrenched patriarchal order. What these works have in common is the image of women in Croatian literature of the 19th century. By studying the patriarchal order, Kozarac highlighted the position of the female subject in such a community and her devaluation. These works raise issues of authority, escape from authority, and female disorder. Precisely because of their unfavorable position in the patriarchal society ruled by men, women decided a struggle for one's own position in society. Men dominated every sphere of society while women were seen as mothers, wives and homemakers. By breaking imposed social conventions, Kozarac's heroines represented a strong personality and fight for their own position in society. In that way, Kozarac managed to portray a realistic depiction of his environment in his works. Especially in Tena and Biser-Kata, he presented the difficult fates of people in an unfavorable time in which there was an economic and financial crisis. However, the shift from realism can be felt in the works of Donna Ines, Mira Kodolićeva and Oprava, where the author faithfully portrayed the human soul and the search for natural laws and spoke about the topics of adultery and marital infidelity.