An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do.
– Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 20. Irony is Jane Austen’s forte and she uses it here to humorous effect through the character of Mr. Bennet. He tells Elizabeth that she will metaphorically be a stranger to her mother if she doesn’t marry Mr. Collins, and a stranger to her father if she does.