The parents of Narcissus were told that he would live to an old age if he never saw his own image. He rejected all the women who fell in love with him, including the nymph, Echo, who was so upset in being jilted that she became depressed, and finally so melancholic, isolated and lonely that all that was left of her was a whisper. Her prayers were heard by the goddess Nemesis who caused Narcissus to fall in love with his own reflection, gazing on it until he died.
He is the worst in men and their instincts of self-preservation and survival, as well as likely the instinctual ignorance of the "one, special sweetheart," when in fact, the most raw masculine instincts sexually, are said to pursue many women over the lifetime. For a man to achieve a monogamous, lasting romance, he must shed this instinctual tendency, keeping it at bay.
The influence of Narcissus is everywhere today, and nowhere more universal than on the internet. One of the most core aspects of a narcissist is ironically, a lack of self-awareness in terms of their selfishness, lack of empathy, and leaving others tumbling in their wake. That’s the standard kind of behavior on many social media and internet identities in general. There are no social consequences for bad behavior in written, electronic and especially anonymous correspondence.
Narcissists lack both a strong personal boundary as well as a lack of Observing Ego. These two things together amount to some moderate to profound degree of immaturity.
There are many magazine articles about narcissists to read, and many of them cater to the reader in terms of blaming the narcissists in your life for many of your troubles. That’s a fool's way out of feeling poorly because the very act of so doing is denying you the self-reflection of Observing Ego about your own contribution to your life, as well as a lack of boundaries regarding who is responsible for your life. Which is you. Ironic that such articles encourage the very same condition in you. We simply cannot do any personal growth without Observing Ego you see.
You may have already gathered that “Observing Ego” is a higher-brained skill in one’s personal growth. The higher brain houses not just the advanced mental functions that set humans apart from lower mammals and other animals - what psychiatrists call the executive functions (like an executive would have.) The higher brain also houses the very state of psychological maturity. If you were ever wondering what term describing the opposite - a person who is immature or backward in their development - it would be called “pathological narcissism.”
Simply put, this is a psychological condition akin to being “a child trapped in an adult’s body.” If you have already dated far and wide, I’m sure you can immediately recall some people you have gotten to know briefly who just didn’t operate at your maturity level, and it was jarring to you. As a potential couple, you clearly didn’t seem intuitively capable of a rich, satisfying relationship if you were to continue dating.