It is the voiding of the image that is mourned when the relationship ends. It is the culmination of a long chain of humiliations and of subjugation. It is the rebellion of the functioning and healthy parts of the partner's personality against the tyranny of the narcissist. The Abuse Abuse is an integral, inseparable part of the Narcissistic Personality Disorder. This abrupt, heartless devaluation IS abuse.
ALL narcissists idealize and then devalue.
This is THE core of pathological narcissism. All these are forms of abuse. There are a million ways to abuse. To love too much is to abuse. It is tantamount to treating someone as one's extension, an object, or an instrument of gratification.