The Clan of the Cave Bear

The hunting party returns home with their loads of meat, hides, and fat. When they finally near the cave, the clan rushes out to greet the hunters, jubilant at first until they see how somber the hunters are. Iza tends to Brac. Her reassurance that he will be fine relieves the others’ worries, though it complicates the decision for Brun. He consults with Creb, who blames himself for Ayla’s actions, as his affection for the girl made him overlook her secrecy. He accepts that it’s his responsibility to carry out whatever sentence Brun decides, even if it means killing the girl he loves as his own daughter.

The next morning, Ayla is brought before the men and questioned. She admits openly to hunting predators for the past three years, beginning when she secretly learned from watching Zoug teach Vorn. She explains that she chose predators because they threatened the clan’s food. She also demonstrates her skill with the sling, killing a rabbit with ease when Brun tests her, to the men’s astonishment.

A formal council follows. Droog and Zoug argue that Ayla brings luck to the Clan and that her skills benefit them, while Broud and Dorv insist that traditions must be upheld. Creb recalls that, in ancient times, women once hunted as well. Goov suggests Ayla’s totem may not be the male cave lion but the female lioness, the true hunter. The possibility unsettles the men, as it implies that Ayla’s desire to hunt could be sanctioned by her totem. When it comes time to vote, the council is split evenly. Brun knows the final decision rests with him, but he continues to be torn.

The clan gathers outside the cave to witness Brun’s judgment of Ayla. He solemnly acknowledges that Ayla has broken a fundamental Clan tradition and declares that she’s “Cursed with Death” (268). However, he chooses to impose the death curse only for one moon’s cycle, giving her a slim chance of being able to return. Creb performs the ritual, naming the unmentionable spirits. From that moment, the clan no longer sees Ayla as alive. To them, she’s a wandering spirit rather than a person. Despite Ayla’s pleas, Iza and Creb burn all of Ayla’s possessions, including her beloved medicine bag.

Ayla flees the cave and finds her way to her meadow and the cave there. Though devastated at her exile, she begins to focus on survival. She makes tools, hunts for food, and stores meat and supplies for the coming winter. She marks time by notching sticks, remembering Brun’s words about returning after one moon, and clings to the possibility of being allowed back.

As winter arrives, Ayla is trapped in her cave by a blizzard. Eventually, the storm clears and, when the curse’s time limit ends, she sets out to return home. Though she’s caught in an avalanche on the descent, she survives.

Back at the main cave, Creb and Iza mourn her, convinced she’s truly gone, and Creb even contemplates giving up his role as Mog-ur. Just then, Ayla reappears at the cave entrance, covered in snow but alive. Creb, ignoring custom, rushes forward to embrace her.

After Ayla’s return, Iza embraces her as well, while Uba insists she always knew Ayla wasn’t dead. Creb goes to break the death curse but discovers that the cave bear skull pattern he’d set had already been disturbed, convincing him that Ayla’s totem had intervened.

Brun calls Ayla to him privately, and she thanks him for giving her a chance. That evening, the women speculate about the preparations Brun and Creb are making, as a feast was ordered, and the men are being unusually secretive. While working with the women, Ayla reconnects with them. Broud watches bitterly from a distance as she draws attention and respect once again.

Later, Ayla is blindfolded and brought to a secret ceremony performed by Creb. Her blood is taken as a sacrifice, burned in oil, and her thigh scar is marked with black lines, resembling the tattoos of male hunters. Finally, Brun presents her with a mammoth ivory talisman, declaring that while she remains a woman in all other ways, her totem demands she be allowed to hunt with a sling. She’s named “the Woman Who Hunts” (303). Ayla accepts the honor and silently thanks her cave lion totem for guiding her.

Though the other men accept her new status, Broud is convinced Brun has once again favored Ayla and robbed him of the attention and authority he believes he deserves.

Ayla begins menstruating, marking her transition into adulthood. Although she understands that her cave lion totem may prevent her from bearing children due to its power, she longs for a baby of her own. She develops a close friendship with Ovra, who is also childless, and spends more time with the other women. Iza instructs Ayla on her responsibilities as a woman, from managing her menstrual cycle to the expectations of sex and childbirth, but avoids mentioning the possibility of a mate for Ayla, since none of the men in the Clan would consider her. Ayla sees her reflection for the first time and begins to see herself as ugly and undesirable. She’s distraught, but Iza reassures her that she may find a mate at the upcoming Clan Gathering.

Ayla begins to hunt openly, bringing her kills back to the cave. Broud’s resentment toward her worsens. During a spring hunting trip, he corners her, and, for the first time, he signals her to submit sexually to him. Ayla tries to obey, but when he becomes violent, she resists, and Broud rapes her. From then on, Broud continues to assert dominance over Ayla through repeated sexual assaults. She eventually becomes numb and detached. Iza and Creb notice her decline, as she loses interest in medicine, chores, and hunting. Broud eventually loses interest in hurting her when she stops responding and returns to his mate, Oga.

When Ayla begins suffering from morning sickness and misses her period, Iza realizes she’s pregnant. Despite clan customs that discourage an unmated woman from having a child, Ayla refuses to take herbs that would abort her pregnancy, as she still wants a baby.

The others are shocked at the news of Ayla’s pregnancy, as they’d all believed that her powerful totem would prevent her from conceiving. The men debate whose totem spirit could have fathered the child, with opinions divided between Creb and Broud, though some suggest it might have been a combination of all of their totems. Discussion then turns to whether anyone would take Ayla as a mate, since an unmated woman’s child is considered unlucky, but none agree.

As her pregnancy progresses, Ayla remains sick and suffers from near-constant bleeding. Iza, worried for both her and the baby, ventures into the cold autumn rain to find rattlesnake root to help prevent pregnancy loss. The journey nearly kills her, and she returns soaked, feverish, and coughing up blood. Ayla tends to her, and Iza slowly recovers, though the strain weakens Ayla further.

When Ayla goes into labor in the spring, the process nearly kills both her and the child, but both survive with Iza’s help. When Iza sees the baby, she sees that he doesn’t look like other Clan infants. According to custom, the child must be killed for being “deformed,” but Ayla refuses and clings to her son, insisting that he is strong enough to live. Iza pleads with her to give the baby up, but Ayla decides to hide with her son in her meadow cave until the naming day, when Brun would be forced to accept him. The next morning, she leaves. Uba secretly follows, watching as Ayla climbs to her hidden sanctuary.

Creb grows anxious about Ayla’s absence, and Iza confesses that the girl ran away to protect her baby from being killed. She explains that Ayla intends to hide until the naming day, and Creb realizes that, if she succeeds, Brun’s leadership would be damaged in the eyes of the others.

Meanwhile, Ayla struggles to care for herself and her infant in her hidden cave as she’s still weak from childbirth and blood loss. As she attempts to fetch water, she discovers hunters’ tracks near the spring and realizes how close she is to being found.

At Brun’s hearth, Broud seizes the opportunity to condemn Ayla, claiming her freedom has consistently undermined clan customs. Brun begins to doubt his own leniency. Iza privately appeals to Brun to show mercy, but he refuses, insisting that it’s too late. When Ayla returns, both she and her baby will die.

Back in her refuge, Ayla is visited by Uba, who secretly brings her food and medicine. The girl also gives her a message from Iza: Ayla can’t return. Ayla is torn between her desire to see her family again and her refusal to abandon her child. She begins to wonder about the true origin of her son, questioning whether sexual intercourse rather than totem spirits might be responsible for conception. Horrified by the thought that Broud might be the father of her son, she clings to the belief that her child belongs only to her.

Finally, Ayla decides to return and beg Brun to let her baby live, even if it means death for herself should he refuse.

Ayla returns before the seven days are up. When questioned, Ayla formally admits to her disobedience, explaining to Brun that she had planned to return on the naming day to force him to accept her son, but came back early because she realized it was wrong to defy him. She pledges to obey whatever decision Brun makes, even if it means giving up her child. However, she begs him to let the boy live or, if her baby must die, she wishes to die with him.

Brun listens, then convenes the men to consider the matter. Many argue that the baby is too strange to be allowed to live. Broud especially argues for both Ayla and her son to be cursed, growing increasingly hostile and disrespectful toward Brun. Brun then openly rebukes Broud for overstepping and reaffirms his own authority as leader. Creb then intervenes, both as Mog-ur and as Ayla’s surrogate father and hearth provider. He accepts responsibility for her failings, saying he was too lenient with her, but pleads that her son deserves to live just as he himself did.

At sunrise, the Clan gathers for judgment. Instead of the death curse, Brun pronounces a lesser punishment: Ayla is forbidden from hunting until after the Clan Gathering. Creb then performs the naming ceremony for the baby, who is given the name Durc and officially accepted into the clan.