How does Charlotte Bronte present Jane Eyre as a strong female character?

Jane's strong character is best seen in the context of her gender as she shows traits that trangress and push the boundaries of those expected of Victorian women. She is fiercely independent and she is fearless in her questioning and challenging of society. Jane raises her standing from being a lonely and rejected orphan to being a wealthy and influential woman. Jane has a clear strength of character, which we see when she says to Mr Rochester "I don’t think, sir, you have a right to command me, merely because you are older than I, or because you have seen more of the world than I have". Here there is a strength in the strong apostrophe 'sir' which asserts her boldness. This is especially so as she is reproaching both a man and her employer, which proves her audacity and strength of self. As such, she is independent in thought and in character, especially since such a conversation is more daring and transgressive of contemporary society standards of women, that they be submissive to the wills of men and serve men as their posessions rather than as their rivals. Therefore merely from this quotations we see how Bronte has shaped a character that is strong and assured in herself and in her position in society.