Austen uses Mrs. Palmer as a social commentary on people who spend too much time in other people's business. Mrs. Palmer knows little of people's personal lives yet assumes and gossips about much of them. Her purpose is to be a comedic relief and a satire on people like this. This example is timeless and still applies today. Austen also cleverly uses Mrs. Palmer as a way to plant ideas in the reader's head, and get the reader and the characters thinking about the credibility of the statements that Mrs. Palmer assumes are true.
