Understanding how the designs were perceived in period is not really a case of which aircraft was the most complex. Its really to do with how familiar the construction method was to the designers and the people that put them together (plus those who would be tasked with repairing them) and how established the manufacturing facilties were to produce the aircraft at the time.
In the case of the Hurricane (which most certainly is highly structurally complex to our modern eyes) Hawker simply employed their tried, tested and familiar construction methods to produce it (its so similar to the earlier bi-planes you can hardly tell the difference between the Hurricane fuselage structure , sans wood and the bi-plane predecessors).
The Spitfire, on the other hand was at the time very challenging to set up for large scale manufacturing and thats where the ‘legend’ was born. Today we still hear of the Hurricanes ‘simple’ and rugged construction but today, side by side comparison with a Spitfire gives the opposite impression!
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