Mrs. Bates is a very old lady, "past everything but tea and quadrille." She is described as "civil and humble," and shows some signs of dementia, being unable to understand what is happening when her granddaughter is ill or handle a neighbor's visit without her daughter[1] and falling asleep in company when she is unable to knit.[2]
She was married to Mr. Bates, the vicar of Highbury, and they had two daughters: Hetty and Jane. Jane married Lieut. Fairfax and had a daughter, also named Jane, but Miss Bates never married and continued to live with her parents.
Following Mr. Bates's death, the family lost its income, and Mrs. Bates and her daughter moved into smaller accommodations in Highbury where they are only able to afford a single servant. When Jane Fairfax was orphaned, it was expected that she would be raised by her grandmother and aunt in genteel poverty, but her father's commanding officer Colonel Campbell invited Jane to live with them and be educated alongside his own daughter.[3]
Mrs. Bates and her daughter often spent time at Hartfield upon Mr. Woodhouse's invitation as the man considers them dear friends.[4] She often occupies herself with knitting, but when the rivet of her spectacles comes out, she is unable to knit until Frank Churchill fixes them.[2]