Mrs. Bennet’s sister who lives in Meryton has the surname Phillips. She is Mrs. Phillips, the wife of Mr. Phillips, who had worked as a clerk for Mrs. Bennet’s father and later succeeded him in his legal business.
The Phillips household is only about a mile from Longbourn, making it an easy destination for Catherine and Lydia Bennet. The younger girls visit their aunt frequently, especially after a militia regiment arrives near Meryton. Mrs. Phillips supplies them with gossip about the officers, while Mr. Phillips visits the soldiers and helps open this new social world to his nieces.
Mrs. Phillips is part of Mrs. Bennet’s local family network, but she is distinct from Mrs. Gardiner, another maternal aunt who lives in London with her husband on Gracechurch Street. The difference between the two sisters’ homes also reflects the novel’s contrast between Meryton gossip and London sophistication.
Some editions spell the name “Philips” with one “l,” while “Phillips” is also used in editions and reference works. That spelling variation does not change the family identification: Mrs. Bennet’s Meryton sister is Mrs. Phillips.