作不了主 meaning in English

cannot call one's soul on one's own; cannot decide oneself

She 's not in position to decide .
她作不了主。
The french are helpless .
法国人作不了主。
I can t help it , said alice very meekly : i m growing
“我作不了主呀，你看我还在长呢！ ”
There had to be some good reason , independent of her will , to keep her far from me , and the more i thought about it , the more convinced i was that this reason could only be some misfortune or other
这种想法我一直没再有过。一定是有一种她作不了主的原因把她拖住了，使她不能到我这里来。我越是想，越是相信这个原因只能是某种灾祸。