The elderly woman who tries to break her morphine addiction is Mrs. Dubose, formally Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose. She lives near the Finch family and initially appears to Scout and Jem as a cruel, bitter neighbor.
After Jem damages her camellia bushes, Atticus orders him to read to her each afternoon as punishment. The children notice that she experiences fits of twitching and drooling, but only after her death do they learn that the reading helped distract her while she stopped taking morphine.
Her doctor had prescribed morphine for pain, and she became dependent on it. Atticus considers her decision to overcome the addiction before dying an example of real courage, even though he does not excuse her racism or abusive behavior. Mrs. Dubose’s story teaches Jem that courage means continuing despite knowing the struggle may be unwinnable.