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How did the Napoleonic Code limit the legal rights of women?
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Napoleon I
The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, oil on canvas by Jacques-Louis David, 1812; in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
The Napoleonic Code, enacted in 1804, significantly limited the legal rights of women by reinforcing patriarchal authority and reversing many of the egalitarian gains made during the French Revolution. The code established a legal framework that subordinated women to their fathers and husbands, explicitly stating that while a husband owed protection to his wife, a wife owed obedience to her husband.12
Key restrictions included:
- Legal Capacity: Women were largely denied legal capacity. They were barred from signing contracts, selling, buying, or mortgaging property without the written consent of their husbands.21
- Property Control: Even under regimes where property was considered community property, the husband was vested with total control over the management of all family assets, including those belonging to the wife.21
- Divorce: The code rolled back liberal divorce laws. While men could divorce for adultery, a wife could only demand a divorce on the grounds of her husband's adultery if he brought his concubine into their common residence.1
- Family Authority: The husband was designated the head of the family, with authority over the children and the power to make major family decisions.21