The Napoleonic Code

From A Streetcar Named Desire, a line I remember:

What is the Napoleonic Code in A Streetcar Named Desire?

In order to prove his own victimization, he refers to the Napoleonic code, a code of law recognized in New Orleans from the days of French rule that places women's property in the hands of their husbands. Looking for a bill of sale, Stanley angrily pulls all of Blanche's belongings out of her trunk.