Quotes from The Valley of Horses

Jean M. Auel ·  544 pages

Rating: (63.6K votes)


“If you want to fall in love, you can't hold everything in. You have to open up, take that risk. You'll be hurt sometimes, but if you don't, you'll never be happy. The one you find may not be the kind of woman you expected to fall in love with, but it wont matter, you'll love her for exactly what she is.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Valley of Horses


“Ayla, I looked for you all my life and didn't know I was looking. You are everything I ever wanted, everything I ever dreamed of in a woman, and more. You are a fascinating enigma, a paradox. You are totally honest, open; you hide nothing: yet you are the most mysterious woman I've ever met.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Valley of Horses


“I don't know, Jondalar. Maybe you haven't found the right woman. Maybe the Mother has someone special for you. She doesn't make many like you. You are really more than most women could bear. If all your love were concentrated on one, it could overwhelm her, if she wasn't one to whom the Mother gave equal gifts.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Valley of Horses


“Sometimes women who aren’t perfect are more interesting; they’ve done more, or learned something.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Valley of Horses


“Ayla, what am I doing wrong?" he asked, standing in front of her, dripping. "It's not you. I'm the one who's doingit wrong." "You're not doing anything wrong." "Yes I am. I've been trying all day to encourage you, but you don't understand Clan gestures.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Valley of Horses



“You are strong, self-reliant, entirely able to take care of yourself and of me... You are fearless, courageous; you saved my life, nursed me back to health, hunted for my food, provided for my comfort. You don't need me. Yet you make me want to protect you, watch over you, make sure no harm comes to you. I could live with you all my life and never really know you; you have depths it would take many lifetimes to explore. You are wise and ancient... and as fresh and young as a woman as... And you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I love you more than life itself.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Valley of Horses


“Like men, some grow best in company, striving to outdo the rest. Others need to grow their own way, though it may be lonely. Both have value.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Valley of Horses


“Serenio had been right, his love was too much for most people to bear. His anger, let loose, could not be contained until it had run its course either. Growing up, he had once wreaked such havoc with righteous anger that he had caused someone serious injury. All his emotions were too powerful. Even his mother had felt forced to put a distance between them, and she had watched with silent sympathy when friends backed off because he clung too fiercely, loved too hard, demanded too much of them.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Valley of Horses


“Usually it will be something special or unusual. It may be a stone you have never seen before, or a root with a special shape that has meaning for you. You must learn to understand with your heart and mind, not your eyes and ears; then you will know. But, when the time comes and you find a sign your totem has left you, put it in your amulet. It will bring you luck.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Valley of Horses


“You need no call, you were born to this destiny. But you will be tested. You will cause pain and suffer for it …”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Valley of Horses



“If Earth’s children ever forget who provides for them, we may wake up someday and find we don’t have a home.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Valley of Horses


“En ocasiones las mujeres que no son perfectas resultan más interesantes; han hecho más o han aprendido algo.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Valley of Horses


“Tal vez creas que resulta más fácil seguir la corriente, porque así no tienes que luchar contra ella, pero ahí está el problema. Cuando vas contracorriente, tienes que estar pensando todo el tiempo en el río y la embarcación. Sabes que si te abandonas perderías todo lo que hayas ganado. Y puedes ver con tiempo lo que llegue, para evitarlo. Pero si sigues la corriente, es demasiado fácil dejarte llevar, permitir que tu mente vagabundee y que el río se adueñe de ti.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Valley of Horses


“Then, slowly, it filled her. An urge, like none she had ever known, rose out of her depths, grew in her throat, and burst from her mouth in a primal scream of victory. She did it! At that moment, in a lonely valley in the middle of a vast continent, somewhere near the undefined boundary of the desolate northern loess steppes and the wetter continental steppes to the south, a young woman stood with a bone club in her hand—and felt powerful. She could survive. She would survive.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Valley of Horses


“La carencia misma de responsabilidad le producía sentimientos contradictorios: una sensación inusitada de libertad al mismo tiempo que una frustración inexplicable.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Valley of Horses



“No podía obligarle a quedarse; sólo podía ayudarle a marcharse.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Valley of Horses


“Sorry. That is courtesy, right? Custom? Jondalar, what good are words like sorry? It doesn’t change anything, it doesn’t make me feel any better.” He pulled his hand through his hair. She was right. Whatever he had done—and he thought he knew what it was—being sorry didn’t help.”
― Jean M. Auel, quote from The Valley of Horses


About the author

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