I feel it depends who you believe she is/represents. Is she Isis? Or perhaps a Viscounti? Mind you, a heretic being burned on the stake is not good advertising for a family such as theirs'
Pope Joan?
In some ways she, The High Priestess, represents the first feminist (Paul Hudson). The big difference in my mind is she was not a teacher she was only a leader and born into Gnosticism and the occult, it was her right, not earned. She is proud by station and birth, then educated from there.
The hermit might teach the lucky deserving few but mostly he searches, he earned his knowledge, and unlike the Priestess was not proud. He searched for every little gain in wisdom and understanding, rather then being taught. I have no thought as to who a archetypal hermit might represent in tarot.
So I guess the difference to me was one is taught the other discovered.