The heart of the beast is the inability of the Narcissist to distinguish true from false, posing from being, narcissistic supply from genuine relationships and compulsive drives from true interests and avocations in his life.
Narcissism is about deceit.
It blurs the distinction between authentic actions, true motives, real desires, original emotions - and the malignant forms that are the attributes of Narcissism. Narcissists are no longer capable of knowing themselves. Munch-like, their elongated figures stare at them, on the verge of THE scream, yet somehow, no sound. Somehow, only death and the desert that once use to be their curious, vibrant, optimistic True Self. The Narcissist is the product of unjust, capricious and cruel treatment.