In his library he had always been always sure of leisure and tranquillity; and though prepared…to meet with folly and conceit in every other room in the house, he was used to be free of them there.

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 15. Mr. Bennet sees his library not so much as a place of learning but as his escape room. He goes there to find solace in his loveless marriage. But in this instance it’s to get away from the annoying Mr. Collins, who is talking to him non-stop about his house and garden in Hunsford. In hiding himself behind his library books, Mr. Collins neglects his family and his parenting responsibilities towards his daughters.