The narrative of Silvia Dubois, the "Slav who Whipt Her Mistres and Gand Her Fredom" while living in the northern United States, dispels the myth that slavery was confined to the South. Dubois's narrative takes the form of a "colloquy" between her and Dr. Cornelius W. Larison, who--in a textbook example of narrative appropriation--has often been credited as the "author" of her story.

Like many "as-told-to" slave narratives, Dubois's story is mediated by its recorder and reporter. According to Crispin Sartwell, even though Dubois's narrative is a story of freedom, it represents continued domination by the white patriarchy, because Larison framed the questions, recorded Dubois's answers, edited, and published the narrative. Yet, without Larison, Dubois's story would probably have never been preserved.

Scholars have been unable to establish the birth date of Silvia Dubois, who was born on Sourland Mountain, near the border between Hunterdon and Somerset Counties...