Although the German novelist Louise von François was recognized by contemporaries as a writer of high artistic merit and her works were praised for their probing psychological insights, François's name was seldom mentioned among the writers of the nineteenth century German women's movement. Her narratives carry a covert feminist message which is presented discreetly through the use of subtleties. Cast into intricately interwoven artistic shape, her stories probe the insufficiencies of contemporary patriarchal society which violated women psychologically, socially and economically. The plight of women fettered by male‐dominated institutions, one of the important themes of nineteenth century feminists, is no where more clearly developed than in her storyDer Katzenjunker.The narrative lodges a powerful protest against patriarchal family structures, made emblematic in the quasi‐incestuous relationship between “father” and “daughter.” This study examines how François used the dark and frightening undercurrent of incest to systematically depict male brutality and women's humiliating dependency. It analyses her psychologically complex characters and their emotional and sexual relationships, and elucidates her bitter view of the topos of romantic love. The subtle shift from a depiction of female subordination to one of female self‐identity offers hope for nineteenth century women and suggests a vision of more egalitarian