蔡素芬為知名作家，曾出版多部長篇小說，其小說多以女性人物為主要人物，且主要女性人物多存在逐漸萌發自主意識的跡象。此外，蔡素芬小說中故事的時空背景極為重要，作者也自承時代背景是她寫作時的重要支撐。女性人物在不同的社會環境中生活，受不同的觀念影響，這也決定了她們如何發展自我以及作出最終的抉擇。但無論時空背景如何設定，女性人物最後是否擁有足以自立的自我意識與經濟能力，最後女性人物往往選擇與社會妥協以獲得和平。若以小說做為反映現實的一面鏡子，眾多女性人物最終皆選擇妥協，顯示社會中依舊存在許多限制婦女發展自我的觀念與體制，婦女往往落入此種陷阱內而不自知。婦女若要真正發展自我、追求理想，個人價值觀與整體社會都需要改變。

Tsai Su-Fen is a well-known writer, and has published several novels. Most main characters in her works are female, and those protagonists usually show initial consciousness of autonomy. Besides, in Tsai Su-Fen's novels, the space-time backgrounds are extremely important. The author also recognized this factor as a crucial support in her writing. The female characters in different social contexts are influenced by values thereof, which also determine how they develop themselves and make the choice of life. However, in order to obtain harmony, the females tend to compromise with the society, no matter what the space-time background they are in, and no matter whether they have enough consciousness of autonomy and fmancial dependence. The compromises denote that, as the novels being a mirror to reflect reality, in the society there still exist many values and system which restrict women, and they usually fall into such a trap without even knowing it. If women want to truly develop selves and pursue their ideals, not only personal values but also social values must be changed.