Quotes from The Clan of the Cave Bear

Jean M. Auel ·  512 pages

Rating: (194.7K votes)


“But when did you see her, talk to me? When did you see her go into the cave? Why did you threaten to strike a spirit? You still don't understand, do you? You acknowledged her, Broud, she has beaten you. You did everything you could to her, you even cursed her. She's dead, and still she won. She was a woman, and she had more courage than you, Broud, more determination, more self-control. She was more man than you are. Ayla should have been the son of my mate.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Clan of the Cave Bear


“The difference in the brains of men and women was imposed by nature, and only cemented by culture.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Clan of the Cave Bear


“The earth we leave is beautiful and rich; it gave us all we needed for all the generations we have lived. How will you leave it when it is your turn? What can you do?”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Clan of the Cave Bear


“And their memory made them extraordinary. In them, the unconscious knowledge of ancestral behavior called instinct had evolved. Stored in the back of their large brains were not just their own memories, but the memories of their forebears. They could recall knowledge learned by their ancestors and, under special circumstances, they could go a step beyond. They could recall their racial memory, their own evolution. And when they reached back far enough, they could merge that memory that was identical for all and join their minds, telepathically.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Clan of the Cave Bear


“He's part me and part Clan, and so is Ura. Or rather, she's part Oda and part that man who killed her baby.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Clan of the Cave Bear



“As Creb looked at the peaceful, trusting face of the strange girl in his lap, he felt a deep love flowering in his soul for her. He couldn’t have loved her more if she were his own.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Clan of the Cave Bear


“Mog-ur has been spending all day and half the night in the place of the spirits. It must be a ceremony. While Ayla was gone, he wouldn't go near it; now he hardly ever comes out. When he does, he's so absentminded he forgets to eat. Sometimes he forgets to eat while he's eating.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Clan of the Cave Bear


“It was a tense moment. If Norg refused them, they would have no choice but to return the long distance back to their cave. It would be a grave breach of propriety, but to allow Ayla entrance would be tantamount to accepting her as a woman of the Clan; at least it would give Brun a clear edge. Norg looked again at his mog-ur, then at the powerful one-eyed man who was The Mog-ur, then back at the man who was leader of the clan ranked first of all the clans. If The Mog-ur said so, what could he do?”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Clan of the Cave Bear


“countered. “I suspect the story was made up by a woman who had a”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Clan of the Cave Bear


“Más vale ser un hombre viejo que un muchacho que se cree hombre.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Clan of the Cave Bear



“was dark and no more inviting”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Clan of the Cave Bear


“Ese aperitivo que es el hambre contribuía a que todo tuviera mejor sabor aún.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Clan of the Cave Bear


“Brun, this is the man Ayla saw as whole. This is the man who set her standard. This is the man she loves and compares with her son. Look at me, my brother! Did I deserve to live? Does Ayla’s son deserve to live less?” The”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Clan of the Cave Bear


About the author

Jean M. Auel
Born place: in Chicago, Illinois, The United States
Born date February 18, 1936
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