Built by a man who came into great wealth late in his life, the house is lavish to the point of garishness, and the endless details of the grounds and interiors are carefully described by Jackson until they overwhelm both characters and reader alike.

One of these details is the eponymous sundial, which stands like an asymmetrical eyesore in the middle of the mathematically perfect grounds and bears the legend "WHAT IS THIS WORLD?"

Mrs. Willow arrives with her two daughters, Julia and Arabella; all three women seem intent on winning their way into the Hallorans' money, but become frightened when they hear of the coming destruction and refuse to be sent away.

Finally, a last member of the party is brought into the house: a stranger whom Fanny and Miss Ogilvie meet at random in the village.

At first the items are useful, but gradually, as the pampered residents begin to think of luxuries they might miss in "Eden", the supplies grow fanciful to the point of ridiculousness.

Orianna soon begins to issue edicts and laws regarding behaviour after the world ends, setting herself up as the queen of the coming paradise.

Orianna, realising that Captain is only one of two males who will enter the new world, bribes him with enough money to convince him to stay, claiming that she does not believe he will have enough time to spend it all.

The evening before the world is due to end, Orianna plans a great party (outdoors, so that no one will comment on the preparations inside the house) and invites the whole village to attend for a final feast.

This party takes on the air of a coronation when Orianna appears wearing a small gold crown to symbolise her position in the next world.

The "mathematically perfect" grounds and the jarring sundial might remind readers again of Hill House, where all the floors and walls are said to be slightly off-centre.

John G. Park, in his article "Waiting For the End: Shirley Jackson's "The Sundial"," points to several instances of "confining narcissism" on the part of the novel's primary characters.

"[2] Throughout the novel, most of the characters' conversations are really competing monologues, with no one listening; moreover, both Orianna and Aunt Fanny attempt to manipulate the other adults in the same way that Fancy controls her dolls.