"What say you, Mary? for you are a young lady of deep reflection, I know, and read great books and make extracts."
Mary wished to say something very sensible, but knew not how.

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 2. Mr. Bennet teases his daughter Mary, who is introduced here and is one of the vehicles for her father’s irony and sarcasm. The unfortunate Mary makes her debut in the novel to her father’s mocking humor. Mary is of course not a woman of deep reflection and is tongue-tied, having nothing to say in response.