Bauer

Mrs. Bauer
Biographical Information
Occupation	Cook
Marital Status	Married or widowed
Birthplace	Kingdom of Hanover (now German Empire)
Residence	New York
Family
Immediate	Unnamed husband
Physical description
Gender	Female
Appearances
Portrayed by	Kristine Nielsen
Appears in	The Gilded Age
Debut	1.01 "Never The New"

Mrs. Bauer is the German cook for the van Rhijn family. She acts as a mother figure for many of the kitchen maids, including Bridget.

Biography

Early life

Mrs. Bauer was born in the Kingdom of Hanover, prior to the unification of Germany. She emigrated to the United States and became the cook in the household of the wealthy Dutch-American van Rhijn family. She began to land herself in trouble by picking up a habit for gambling money on card games. She is either the wife or the widow of Mr. Bauer, who hasn't featured in the series.

Season 1

Mrs. Bauer is present when the van Rhijn servants welcome Mrs. Van Rhijn's niece, Marian Brook, who arrives following her father's death. She is somewhat awkward in the presence of Peggy Scott, Marian's African-American companion, who is hired as Agnes's secretary. However, she is not openly hostile towards Peggy.

Mrs. Bauer is confronted by a man who she owes around fifty dollars to, an extraordinary sum for a servant to be in debt to. She returns to the kitchen, and Bridget asks if she is well, but she doesn't explain herself to the others. Peggy discovers that Mrs. Bauer is attempting to steal two silver candlesticks from the house, and breaks down in tears as she admits to being a "common thief." Peggy relates the incident to Marian, who attempts to get her cousin Oscar to settle the debt, though it is ultimately Miss Brook who agrees to give Mrs. Bauer the money she needs to settle her debts.

After her debts are paid, Mrs. Bauer regains her confidence. She is encouraging of Bridget and Jack having some fun and going to the theater together, despite Bannister's reservations. She also expresses concern for Peggy when she does not eat her lunch, although is pleased for her when she learns that The Christian Advocate wants to publish her short stories.

Mrs. Bauer observes Bridget distance herself from Jack after their night out together, and tells Bridget that she cannot hope to have a love life if she doesn't want a man to hold her hand, and offhandedly says that Bridget's own mother would agree. This upsets Bridget greatly, and she visits Bridget in her bedroom after lights out. Bridget wants to put the past behind her, but she ends up confessing her history of abuse to Mrs. Bauer. The cook is shocked, and does all she can to console the young maid.

On Armstrong's afternoon off, Mrs. Bauer gives her an apple pie. When the lady's maid returns, Mrs. Bauer enthusiastically asks if she liked the pie, telling her that she ought to "spoil herself" now and then. Armstrong replies that she has been "spoiling herself" all day, hiding her tears from Mrs. Bauer, as she has in fact been taking care of her unappreciative invalid mother.