In Pride and Prejudice, Mrs Phillips is the name of Mrs Bennett's gossipy sister. Mrs Phillips lives close to the Bennett family, in nearby Meryton, with her husband, Mr Phillips, who is an attorney. Mrs Phillips concerns herself primarily with the movements and interests of others and acts as a source of information on a number of local issues, particularly the movements of the militia. Evidence of this is provided in Chapter Seven:
Their visits to Mrs Phillips were now productive of the most interesting intelligence. Every day added something to their knowledge of the officers' names and connections. Their lodgings were not long a secret, and at length they began to know the officers themselves.
Similarly, in Chapter 16, the Bennetts accompany Mr Collins to Mrs Phillip's house where she receives much fuel for her forthcoming gossip:
He (Mr Collins) found in Mrs. Phillips a very attentive listener, whose opinion of his consequence increased with what she heard, and who was resolving to retail it all among her neighbours as soon as she could.
Through the character of Mrs Phillips, Austen expresses the vulgarity of middle-class society in rural England. It appears that nobody can move in Meryton or its localities without the knowledge of Mrs Phillips and that she cannot keep any information to herself.
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