Quicksand may have been the first, but at only 46,000 words it is also just a novella. Wikipedia notes only 8 short stories. So although we must assume there was other writing prior to these publications, that is still not much experience, hence I am inclined to be forgiving of the novel's weaknesses.
Wikipedia notes of
Passing:
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Sales of the book were modest: Knopf produced three small print runs each under 2,000 copies. While early reviews were primarily positive, it received little attention beyond New York City.
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and
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In modern scholarship, Larsen is recognized as one of the central figures in the African-American, feminist and modernist canons, a reputation that is based on her two novels (Passing and Quicksand) and some short stories.[39] As of 2007, Passing is the subject of more than 200 scholarly articles and more than 50 dissertations,[39][40] which offer a range of critical interpretations.
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The book was only 35k words. You can bet that those 200 articles and 50 dissertations come to a lot more than that. Hence my presumption in suggesting that most of the novel's influence has been imposed on it in recent times.
ETA: I agree that there are some things we may be missing because of our isolation from that time and place - but the more I see of modern interpretation (by presumed knowledgeable scholars) the more it seems those ambiguities actually exist. So it would seem we are left with wondering if the ambiguities were intentional (the work of an artist in full control on their work) or accidental (the work of an artist still learning what they can and cannot get away with). Given the various omissions from the work, I am inclined to think the latter is more likely.