Was Virginie truly powerful?

     I was reading book reviews about I am Madame X and many of them claim the main character, Virginie, was a powerful woman in the painting and in her life. However, I disagree with their claims. Virignie had many incidents that went against the idea of "power".

     Virginie had no control of her own life. Her mother made all her decisions. Her mother lived through her fame in society. Mama made Virginie take piano lessons, take dangerous medicine for beuaty purposes, and have an arranged marriage to hide her pregnanccy. Virginie's poor relationship with her mother made her susceptible to wanting attention and love from men. This made it worse because she got her heart broken by Dr. Pozzi. She thought he loved her and was going to marry her, especially since she was going to have his child. He told her he cannot get married. Virginie almost committed suicide for him. He was her weakness. She did not have control of her feelings and did not know her exact needs. She had lovers and never truly settled down, except her arranged marriage with Pierre. That marriage did not help Virginie as well as I though it would. She stayed the same insecure, weak person.

     In the painting, she looks confident and glamorous. She portrayed an image of someone strong and independent. That was her actual body painted, but the energy given off by the painting is not who she actually is. She still had insecurities and difficult time accepting her true beauty. A powerful woman has no doubts or noticeable flaws. Virginie is the total opposite.