...one would think that Sir Walter would've improved in his character. Unfortunately, he was still as he was, the same person focused on the outer man more than anything else.

From Ch 1 - 24, he hadn't changed enough to merit notice except for that one little acceptance of whom Anne chose to marry, and even that, he'd made his decisions on what he could literally see and how it would add to his own benefit.

The other little ruffle in SW's life was when they found out about Mr Elliot's bad boy behavior, but even then, he just swept that under the rug and hoped nobody else noticed.

SW still tried to keep the same lifestyle he had even though it was ruining his finances and threatening his future. He simply moved to Bath and tried to keep his reputation intact.

By the time I was done with Ch 24, I felt terribly sorry for Sir Walter, for the cocoon he was living in, for his lack of awareness of a better life (that Anne found), and for his dragging his own daughter Elizabeth into the same condition he was in.