Question

Why did Harper choose not to reveal that the cousins are African American?

Answer 1

Two Offers by Frances. Well for being such a short story it truly seems like long. It has complex details. First of all:

The summary: The story described the lives of two cousins: Laura Lagrange, who married the wrong man [10a]

Circumstances: its to be understood that when the author wrote the book there was a lot of racial injustice and also rasism towards people who had the inclination to be colored. To my, knowledge and understanding it's possible that the author didn't dare put that both cousins were African- Americans because then the story wouldn't be such a big hit; or would be unaccepted by the white crowd of people at that time. She possibly used an indirect of it in the story.  Instead, she emphasized the romanticization of death and the recurring use of the label true. The story foregrounded values of domesticity, personal morality, and Christian charity. 

Sources: http://introtofictionw13.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/60687727/Harper%20The%20Two%20Offers.pdf