Opening windows into the past: A study of the importance of annotations, footnotes, and the resulting reaccentuation of Victorian editions for students

The purpose of this thesis is to present and support my theory that annotations and footnotes are excellent rhetorical devices for editors of Victorian editions for students and that annotations and footnotes contribute to reaccentuation of Victorian text, which leads to students experiencing creative understanding, which, in turn, allows editors to influence students' perceptions, creating readers who can understand and agree with authorial or editorial purpose. I researched the works of Mikhail Bakhtin and Wayne Booth along with other relevant resources, and I studied the effects of existing or potential annotations and footnotes in several editions of Jane Eyre, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Lady Audley's Secret, and The Romantic Adventures of a Milkmaid, all Victorian texts. Through writing this thesis, I not only prove and support my theory but I also discover that the study of annotations and footnotes actually promotes further personal scholarship on the part of students.