Clan of the Cave Bear

Clan of the Cave Bear

Introduction

The Clan of the Cave Bear is the story of Ayla, a prehistoric girl orphaned by an earthquake and forced to live for a time by herself in the forest. When a human tribe, the Clan of the Cave Bear, finds her and takes her in, Ayla tries hard to conform to their code despite her obvious differences from them. She is one of the "Others"—taller, blond, and blue eyed—and she also has more developed powers of speech than the members of the Clan, who still communicate largely by gesture. Cared for by the Clan medicine woman, Iza, and her brother, Creb, Ayla learns the customs and the language of the Clan, but she frequently violates their expectations because she does not share their racial memories. Ayla becomes adept at the skill of hunting, forbidden to women of the Clan, and her prowess makes an enemy of Broud, the son of the Clan leader. He torments her continuously as they grow up, and then rapes her when they are older. His actions are acceptable according to tradition, because any female must submit to a male at his will. The members of the Clan have not yet made the connection between sexual intercourse and reproduction, so they are amazed when Ayla becomes pregnant, more so because they had assumed that her differences would make her incapable of bearing children. She gives birth to a son, but when an earthquake destroys the Clan's cave, Broud, now the leader, blames Ayla. He curses her and expels her from the Clan, but she must leave her son behind (Parks, 1990).

Synopsis

The story takes place in Europe there are about 35 000 years, groups of modern humans (Cro-Magnon) begin to populate the continent previously occupied by Neanderthals. Ayla, a girl who lost her parents during an earthquake, is attacked by a cave lion. Although she has hidden in a crevice of rock, the girl was injured by one of the powerful claws of the animal. Almost starved and badly injured, she was discovered by a group of Neanderthals who was passing by. She is cared for by Iza, the woman doctor, and Creb, the Mog-Ur or sorcerer. Both attach much to Ayla, even if the rest of the clan remains a stranger whose does not. Broud, the son of the chieftain, particularly hates. To protect her, the day Broud become clan chief in turn, Ayla Iza initiates into the secrets of his art of healing for her to take an honorable place in the clan. Moreover, Iza and Creb teach him the language and customs of the clan, which are quite different from his own, which is not often enough without causing problems (Libman, 1990).

Discussion

Basically, The Clan of the Cave Bear has its roots in a series of bestselling books. In 1980, Jean M. Auel published the first volume of Children of the Earth with The Clan of the Cave Bear, which will immediately become a ...