To such perseverance in wilful self-deception, Elizabeth would make no reply, and immediately and in silence withdrew; determined, that if he persisted in considering her repeated refusals as flattering encouragement, to apply to her father, whose negative might be uttered in such a manner as must be decisive, and whose behaviour at least could not be mistaken for the affectation and coquetry of an elegant female.
– Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 19. Elizabeth can no longer stay and listen to Mr. Collins’s "wilful" exercise in self-deceit as he refuses to accept her refusal to marry him. She leaves the room and determines that if Mr. Collins should persist, she will have her father give him the message. She believes that Mr. Bennet’s "no" won’t be mistaken for female pretension or flirtation.