I'm confused (spoilers)

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The film is easier to understand if you've read Turgenev's novella, "First Love." Here are some answers:


What exactly was going on between Kirsten Dunst's character and Nick Stall's character's father?

Pyotr and Zinaida were having a love affair, which involved a sexual relationship.


What was the letter Vladmir's mother had? I assumed it exposed an affair between Vladmir's father and Zanaida

This is correct. The letter was sent by one of Zinaida's jealous suitors.


but then I started second guessing it when she said Zanaida was your mother's name

This is a "barb" Marya (Vladimir's mother) fires at Pyotr in the heat of an argument. It is meant to wound him by implying that Pyotr perceives Zinaida as some sort of proxy for his mother. The suggestion is that he has Oedipal feelings for his mother. Marya is trying to really hurt Pyotr because finding out about his affair is very painful for her, so she wants to wound him back. She chooses such a sick, shocking suggestion as a way of trying to equal the pain she feels at the moment. The incident illustrates how a loveless marriage can turn ugly, with both parties making desperate attmpts to wound one another.


I thought for a second that meant he had a long term affair with Zinaida's mother and that Zinaida and Vladmir were half siblings. I obviously misunderstood.

Yes, you did misunderstand. Pyotr's mother is not involved in any way. Zinaida is truly the daughter of Princess Zasyekin, and Pyotr never had an affair with either his mother or with Princess Zasyekin.


Years later when Vladmir and his father were on the horses, was Zanaida a prostitute?

No, she isn't a prostitute. The place she's living in is kind of seedy though, because she and her mother have no money so they are living in low circumstances. You might have noticed earlier in the film that the summer home they rent is much smaller, far less grand than the one Vladimir's parents rent.

Zinaida's presence illustrates to Vladimir that his father is obviously still obsessed with Zinaida, which is very telling about his father's character. He has previously referred to himself as one who is in control of his own life, emotions, etc.

The other significance of the scene is to show that Vladimir learns something about love and passion that he didn't understand before. There is a reversal of control -- Zinaida, who once ruled over her parlor suitors, now accepts the role of submission to Pyotr. This forces Vladimir to realize that the experience of passion is more complex than romantic fiction. So Vladimir learns that people can be ruled by their passions: his father gives in to his obsession for Zinaida, and Zinaida, who was once the apathetic/indifferent object of many suitors (whom she would tease and wound and use as playthings in her parlour games), is now, herself, being controlled and wounded by another (meaning Pyotr).


Who did she end up marrying? Was she lucky to marry him because of her past as a prostitute?

Hmmm, I'm not sure that is important WHO she marries. Zinaida is actually fortunate to have found ANYONE that would want to marry her. She has no fortune, ss in reduced circumstance both financially and socially, and because of that she really isn't a great catch. (But again, she was never a prostitute.) Additionally, any potential scandal, such as the affair she'd had with Pyotr, would make her "damaged goods," ruining her chances of making an advantageous match.


Did her family lose all their money? Weren't they royalty?

Yes, she and her mother are very poor, despite their royal heritage. Their situation is not unusual in mid-nineteenth century Russia, when many old families who traced their lineage back hundreds of years were without money, despite having famous names.


I hope you see this; I realize it's been well over a year since you first posted your questions. :-)

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