When Mr. Collins said anything of which his wife might reasonably be ashamed, which certainly was not unseldom, she involuntarily turned her eye on Charlotte. Once or twice she could discern a faint blush; but in general Charlotte wisely did not hear.
– Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 28. When Elizabeth visits the parsonage home of the Collinses, she observes that Charlotte doesn’t even listen to Mr. Collins, but ignores him and carries on contentedly with her life. Charlotte’s solution to a husband who constantly says ridiculous things – she doesn’t hear them! Much is made of Charlotte’s sacrifice in marrying for practicality rather than romance. But Mr. Collins is also humiliated and degraded, with his wife having no genuine respect or affection for him.