Yet again, Sasha is concerned with the way other people perceive her. Now, though, she actually has reason to believe that others are judging her, since these strangers disparagingly refer to her as old. Considering that she’s already somewhat paranoid about people talking about her, it’s unsurprising that overhearing a stranger talk about her in this way would deeply upset her and cause her to fret about her appearance. The entire experience also triggers her insecurities about her nationality. Interestingly enough, she turns her insecurities on the strangers themselves, judging them because
they’re not French—a response that illustrates the cyclical nature of this kind of judgment: the strangers judge Sasha, and because this makes her feel insecure, she spitefully judges them back.