At the core of a narcissist is a black hole, a bottomless black hole that he can never fill. An abusive relationship with his parents prevented the construction of an emotional structure at his center necessary to becoming a healthy adult. The core of his emotional being is empty, and his purpose in life becomes filling it by any means, a task even Sisyphus would find daunting.
He sees the world as a performance, in which he plays the starring role, with other people simply the supporting cast. They are not separate individuals, but exist only to serve his needs for affirmation and support. His interactions with them are intended to feed his sense of his own brilliance, enormous achievements, and outstanding success, even when the facts do not support his version of reality. His bravado performance serves to hide his deep insecurity and the fear his weaknesses will be unmasked.
This body of work portrays both the process of a child becoming a narcissist and the state of his being as a narcissist. An abused child becomes a monster, a monster who abuses others in turn.
