She also states that for Laura to marry for economic reasons relegates the bond to a business arrangement, which defiles the sanctity of the union. Janette advises Laura to refuse both proposals because her indecision indicates a deficiency of affection for either of the two men. Janette, the feminist protagonist, completely rejects the role of woman as wife and mother, and her name, Janette Alston, alludes to Jane Austen, the nineteenth-century English writer. Even though Harper married in 1860, she continued to write and to lecture against slavery. In this regard, Janette parallels Harper, who was unmarried when she published the story. Janette, on the other hand, is unmarried and has forsaken tradition to keep her independence and to pursue a writing career. In particular, Laura feels she must marry or face the fate of becoming an old maid. By juxtaposing their class differences, Harper uses economic contrast to suggest that gender perspectives are related to class consciousness. Though cousins, they represent two different classes, one of privilege and the other of poverty. The story concerns two cousins, Laura and Janette, who consider two offers of marriage extended to Laura. At the same time, it indicates the gender solidarity that existed in the radical abolitionist community and the feminist themes women activists, such as Harper, espoused in their literature. In this regard, the short story suggests strong similarities between black society and white society, as sexism dominates both social spheres. Harper provides no racial dimension to the characters, and the thematic purpose of the story is to challenge contradictions inherent in social values regarding women's roles and to offer an alternative to those conventions and traditions. Frances Ellen Watkins Harper's “The Two Offers” was first published in the Anglo-African Magazine in 1859 and is considered the first published short story by an African American woman in the United States.
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