Contrary to the assertion, "Hermits were always men", one could cite a couple instances to the contrary. Going from the divine to the ridiculous, there was Alibech, the associate of the hermit Rustico, from the Decameron.

More to the point, there was Dame Julian of Norwich, who is generally described as an "anchorite" which is the same thing as a hermit. Her book, Revelations of the Divine Love, had quite a vogue a few years ago. She lived for years in a walled-in cell attached to the outside wall of a church. And they didn't give her Amontillado, either.