what do u think "mistress mary quite contrary" means?

Question

i read in a book once but never knew what it meant. kids would tease mary but she's only 9 yrs. old how exactaly is she a mistress?

Mistress Mary Quite Contrary
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shell
and marigolds all in a row.

Answer 1

I've always heard that nursery rhyme as:

Mary Mary quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row.

And interestingly enough, this page has all kinds of info on it:

http://www.rhymes.org.uk/mary_mary_quite_contrary.htm

The origins are steeped in history... Bloody Mary!
The Mary alluded to in this traditional English nursery rhyme is reputed to be Mary Tudor, or Bloody Mary, who was the daughter of King Henry VIII. Queen Mary was a staunch Catholic and the garden referred to is an allusion to graveyards which were increasing in size with those who dared to continue to adhere to the Protestant faith - Protestant martyrs.

Instruments of Torture!
The silver bells and cockle shells referred to in the Nursery Rhyme were colloquialisms for instruments of torture. The 'silver bells' were thumbscrews which crushed of the thumb between two hard surfaces by the tightening a screw. The 'cockleshells' were believed to be instruments of torture which were attached to the genitals!

The " Maids" or Maiden was the original guillotine!
The 'maids' were a device to behead people called the Maiden. Beheading a victim was fraught with problems. It could take up to 11 blows to actually sever the head, the victim often resisted and had to be chased around the scaffold. Margaret Pole (1473 - 1541), Countess of Salisbury did not go willingly to her death and had to be chased and hacked at by the Executioner. These problems led to the invention of a mechanical instrument (now known as the guillotine) called the Maiden - shortened to Maids in the Mary Mary Nursery Rhyme. The Maiden had long been in use in England before Lord Morton, regent of Scotland during the minority of James VI, had a copy constructed from the Maiden which had been used in Halifax in Yorkshire. Ironically, Lord Morton fell from favour and was the first to experience the Maiden in Scotland!

Executions!
Another form of execution during Mary's reign was being burnt at the stake - a terrible punishment much used during the Spanish Inquisition. The English hated the Spanish and dreaded the idea of an English Inquisition. The executions during the reign of Bloody Mary were therefore viewed with a greater fear of the Spanish than the executions themselves - it is interesting to note that executions during her reign totalled less than 300 an insignificant amount compared to the executions ordered by her father King Henry VIII which are believed to have numbered tens of thousands! We recommend the following site for more facts and information about Bloody Mary

Answer 2

Mistress Mary Quite Contrary

Answer 3

Mary Mary Quite Contrary Song

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
what do u think "mistress mary quite contrary" means?
i read in a book once but never knew what it meant. kids would tease mary but she's only 9 yrs. old how exactaly is she a mistress?

Answer 5

very opposed in nature or character or purpose; "acts contrary to our code of ethics"; "the facts point to a contrary conclusion"
reverse: a relation of direct opposition; "we thought Sue was older than Bill but just the reverse was true"
a logical relation such that two propositions are contraries if both cannot be true but both can be false
exact opposition; "public opinion to the contrary he is not guilty"
resistant to guidance or discipline; "Mary Mary quite contrary"; "an obstinate child with a violent temper"; "a perverse mood"; "wayward behavior

I would take the word 'mistress' to mean 'unmarried' as opposed to being a lover of a married man

Answer 6

mistress mary contrary means

Answer 7

It's from the book "The Secret Garden". The children are teasing Mary because she is so spoiled and cranky when she comes to England. She was born in India and had her own Nanny and everybody had to do what she wanted.
Throughout the book she she learns to care for others.

Answer 8

Being contrary just means she's mean or cranky (bad attitude? she just a grumpy little girl, I guess). 'Mistress' just means she's a young, unmarried girl.