This statement was intended/targeted to the critics of the time. It was intended for the male critics who would have not accepted the piece of work known as Jane Eyre. It was written in a way to imply and was assumed by all that the author was a male even though it was not gender specific. By everyone assuming that the novel was written by a man it protected her work, and aloud it to be accepted by the reading society. It aloud Charlotte Bronte to keep writing and have her work be accepted, and to be judged as an exceptional written work. After her work had been appreciated and beloved by the society she took the credit for her work.