The story 'Quiet Accompanying' by Ranier Maria Rilke's early work is of special interest for research on adolescence. The story is a literary contribution to the separation conflict of parents and their maturing children, especially the separation crisis in the mother-son relationship. The story's suspense is derived from the son's desire to begin a new phase in life and his experience of being powerless regarding his ties to his family. Thereby the adolescent crisis of the male main character is indirectly picked out as the main theme in the description of the mother's separation crisis. In the mother's 'dream' where the departure for a sunday excursion is described, an image of the son's adolescence with the components search for identity, separation and closeness develops. The son's efforts finally fail because mother and son are captured in their relationship characterized by conflicts and fears.