Brienne is one of my favourite characters because she is the epitome of the opposition to stereotypes of roles of women, not only in ASOIAF but in many writings and in some cases real life.
She's had to deal with a lot of hate and victimization in her world, and I truly believe her skin has also turned from porcelain to ivory to steel. I don't think Sansa will end in a similar role as Brienne, but I believe that Brienne went through a similar stage of strengthening herself in order to avoid allowing ridicule and suffering to get her down.
Brienne is someone I am inspired by, because sometimes I wish I had her strength to be myself. Having said that, I think it was good that we saw her go through a period of suffering (I won't spoil just in case), because it makes me understand her more. As did her wonderful POVs which I really loved reading.