"At a very early period she had apprehended instinctively the dual life-that outward." What does this suggest about Edna's inner struggle?The...

In chapter VII of The Awakening, by
Kate Chopin, we find Edna Pontellier gazing at the ocean, realizing that she has always
been "different."  By different it is meant that she has never had the need nor the want
to comply with every social expectation bestowed upon women of a certain class, namely,
getting married, having children, and live a life of straight up
virtue.

Contrastingly, Edna has always leaned towards the
unusual. An example of this is her friendship with Adele. Adele is a foil of Edna's not
only physically, but metaphysically as well. Adele is described as "matronly" and stout,
while Edna is upright and straight. Adele is artistic and free-spirited, while Edna is
analytical and emotionally repressed.

It is because of this
contrast that Edna feels free to confess her analysis of herself to Adele: She basically
stated to her how the expectations that women are supposed to meet in order to be
considered virtuous are, for Edna, nothing but
limitations.

This is the first time Edna comes face to face
with this reality: She had lived a life that meant really nothing to her real self. She
had been struggling with the "real" Edna and making herself act like the "fake" Edna.
This is the meaning of the statement that she was
living

the outward existence which conforms, the
inward life which questions.

The outward
existence, the fake Edna, just takes in whatever comes her way and complies with social
rules. The inward life, "the real" Edna, is the one coming out and awakening to the
reality of its existence.