Narcissism -- in both the clinical and colloquial sense -- is
commonly considered malignant self-love. But today it occurred to
me that the Narcissus of Greek myth doesn't really love himself; he
loves his reflection, which is merely a surface image. The image has
visual traits derived from the real Narcissus, but it is far from
encapsulating the
whole person.
Narcissus focuses on maintaining the image -- just as some
people maintain their outward persona -- while the needs of the true
self go neglected. Narcissus was therefore
self-sacrificial; he sacrificed the life and fulfillment of the true
self for a much
lower priority, an image.
