The Clan of the Cave Bear | Characters
Resilient and inventive, Ayla embodies the feelings of alienation and strength which Auel sees in modern women. At times Ayla seems too modern to be believable, an admirable ancestor but a less-satisfying fictional character. Her long blond hair, blue eyes, and straight legs contrast too pointedly with the Neanderthals' dark browed, bow-legged, chinless bodies. Yet because Auel has Ayla suffer — from feelings of loneliness, of not belonging, of never fitting in — as much as she triumphs, Ayla becomes an appealing character. In the later novels Ayla's character is even less...
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