Why was the wife looking at herself in the mirror?

In “Cat in the Rain,” George’s wife studies her features, and especially her face, in a mirror. Afterwards, she concludes that she needs a new hairstyle. Presently, she has her hair cut close, like a boy’s. She wants to grow her hair long so that she can tie it up in a big knot at the back of her head. She says that she is tired of “looking like a boy." However, George thinks that she looks great as she is.
It seems that she has suddenly become aware of the various things that need changing in her life. That, or she is in a complaining mood. She says that she wants a kitty and a set of new clothes, as well as "to eat at a table with her own silver and candles," and “to brush her hair out in a mirror." She also talks about wanting a kitty and a set of new clothes. This change in mood and concern over her looks happens after she went out in the rain to rescue a cat that was sheltering under a table outside of their hotel window. However, by the time she reached the table, the cat had left. She came back to her room disappointed and began to rant about her various desires. Ironically, it is the hotel owner, rather than her husband, George, who discerns her desires and works to satisfy them as best as he can. On this occasion, the hotel owner sends over a maid with a tortoiseshell cat for George’s wife, just as she is ranting about wanting a cat.