Craigslist
Craigslist is an electric newspaper that was founded by Craig Newmark. Today it is one of the most visited English language Web sites, with classified posts that can be found worldwide in over 450 cities. The main function of this site is to host classified adds such as, items for sale, services and personals, housing and job postings. Postings for most of the classifieds are free. It is also free for users to browse and respond back to adds.
Alysson Hall, who plays Jane Eyre in the YouTube series The Autobiography of Jane Eyre mentioned that she posted her live-in tutor job application on Craigslist (1:05, "Beginnings", Ep: 2). However, Jane in Bronte's Jane Eyre did not have this advantage. During the Victorian Era, it was not as inexpensive, convenient and accessible to send an application as it is today. This can be seen when Jane considers sending her governess application letter to a print newspaper company called the Herald, when she states, "'How? I know nothing about advertising.' Replies rose smooth and prompt now: - 'You must inclose the advertisement and the money to pay for it under a cover directed to the Editor of the Herald; you must put it, the first opprotunity you have, into the post at Lowtown; answers must be addressed to J.E. at the post office there: you can go and inquire in about a week after you send the letter, if any are come, and act accordingly.'" (p.80, par.5, Norton 4th Critical Edition). Jane's internal discussion clearly displays the inconveniences that goes into sending a letter to a newspaper editor to be published in print. The conveniences of today, with websites like Craigslist, makes searching for a job much easier and expedient, rather than sending a letter to a newspaper editor, paying the print company to post an advertisement and waiting longer for a reply back, as Jane had to do in the Victorian Era.
Bibliography
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2016.
Hall, Alysson. The Autobiography of Jane Eyre. "Beginnings-Ep: 2". Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 3 April 2013. Web. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evJd6A2tUKE&list=PL3NxAiyc-89HP3wHV2y5mbwi2TidvocKZ&index=2
Livesey, Margot. The Flight of Gemma Hardy. HarperCollins, 2012.
Information Source: Strickland, Jonathan. "How Craigslist Works." howstuffworks.com. HowStuffWorks. 1 Nov. 2007. Web. Date Accessed, 8 Oct. 2019. https://money.howstuffworks.com/craigslist.htm