It ties into the comment about liminal space; how one is viewed and views others, while it can control the way a society functions and how we act toward and behave around each other, doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the people these perceptions are directed at and further, for perception to affect anything, it must be paid deference.

Inara, a Companion, who apparently enjoys greater social honor than the rest of the crew, is quickly reduced by Mal's vindictive, shameful envy to being "just" a prostitute, by which every crew member treats her according to their perception (jayne - object of physical desire, zoe - independent contractor, Kaylee - aspirational ambassador). Inara has the wealth and social grace to be the only crew member with her own shuttle/gilded cage necessary because of the private nature of her chosen occupation/role. Although Inara is perhaps the only crew member with formal training in martial arts and social arts, and often shows herself to be steps ahead of the others assessing situations, she's treated the most delicately and rarely included in strategy. Every time Inara is frustrated or stymied, we see a glimpse of the personality behind perceptions in active dissonance. These are all perceptions and roles that can be ignored the same way Mal has ignored his role as revolutionary/defeated soldier, Book ignored his role as terrorist(serenity comics)/religious leader, so on. Everyone is trapped and dictated to by perceptions that are not easily shed but are simply shed, which many characters realize under duress.

In the middle of these conflicting ideas and behaviors from society, the captain and crew of her ship, her shuttle, and herself, that do play a large role in how limited/defined Inara is, is Inara the fundamental character, played by Morena Baccarin conveying assumed desirous perceptions and chosen by the perceptions of a casting director appointed by Whedon, who can only write(and sell) his story if he can figure out how to fit together his perceptions and his supposed perceptions of others close enough together to it's without breaking the written world.

These characters and people are all living according to recognized or artificial perceptions that may not have anything to do with them, yet control how they live and present their lives as far as the characters and people allow themselves to be controlled.

TLDR all the world's a stage