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 his 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.
