There are several reasons. Miss Dubose serves to illustrate the public reaction (already foreshadowed by Francis's talk over Christmas of Atticus being a disgrace to the family because of his part in defending Tom Robinson) to Atticus's involvement in the trial. Scout did her best to remain calm, but this illustrates Jem's breaking point.
Another reason for introducing Miss Dubose is to illustrate Atticus's constant theme of crawling into someone's skin to see what the world looks like through their eyes. After Atticus informs Jem that his reading was just to ease her withdrawals from morphine addiction (and remember Atticus would have had Jem read to her anyway, regardless of what he did to her flowers), Jem is able to see another side of the seemingly terrible and monstrous old lady.
Her posthumous gift to Jem reveals a much different side to Miss Dubose than Jem ever would have realized. This is key for the children because as Atticus told Jack over Christmas, he doesn't want the children to become bitter over the trial. One key to not being bitter is to realize that people are not always what they seem. Miss Dubose wasn't just a mean spirited old lady. Once one looked at things from her vantage point, one realizes that she is quite different. Atticus even reveals that she was the bravest person her ever knew.
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