In the state of Louisiana we have the Napoleonic code according to which what belongs to the wife belongs to the husband and vice versa.
– Tennessee Williams
A Streetcar Named Desire, Scene 2. Stanley is upset over the loss of the Belle Reve plantation and the possibility that Blanche has deceived Stella about it. Asserting his male dominance, he explains to Stella about the Napoleonic Code, whereby any property belonging to her belongs to him. He thinks that Blanche may have swindled Stella out of her inheritance.