I don't think Edwin being sympathetic toward the club's prostitutes is inconsistent with his characterization so far, but I wrote it, so I suppose I wouldn't.
He has always been portrayed as having qualms with the exploitative nature of the club from a logical/mental standpoint, but on a sensual level he becomes a hypocrite. The social mores ingrained in him are at odds with what he innately finds gratifying. Walking around, he'll think what most people would think, but he'll find having a flogger in his hand stimulating. There's supposed to be some push and pull in that regard, with some overcompensating, but it might not come across like that. If it doesn't, then it's either a failure of my writing or a mismatch of the perspectives we're bringing to the table.
To answer your question though, Edwin can't straddle the line forever. Eventually he'll have his critical moment and he'll need to start progressing toward the game's two main end states: getting his mentality in order and staying at the club or wanting to leave and dealing with any complications related to that.