A Self-Loving Post

Greetings Dear Reader!

As I promised, today I have come up with an interesting story which is also believed to be the origin of an English word.

Have you ever had a look in the mirror and thought, "How beautiful I am!" or do you adore yourself whenever you look in the mirror? If your answer is 'yes', then probably you are a 'narcissist'. And that is the word which I am going to discuss.

Narcissist, literally means 'a person who is overly self-involved or in love with himself.'

The origin of the word lies in the Greek mythology. The famous story of Narcissus and Echo goes like this-

Hera, the Greek Goddess of women and marriage (whom the pronoun 'her' is named after), felt jealousy towards her husband Zeus for his many affairs. Whenever she was about to catch him, a nymph named Echo distracted her with lengthy conversations. When at last Hera realized the truth that her husband had an affair with Echo, she cursed her. From that moment on, the once loquacious nymph Echo could not initiate a conversation but only repeat the most recently spoken words of another person (which is also the function of an echo and hence her name is also the origin of the word).

Some time after being cursed, Echo spied a young man named Narcissus whilst he was out hunting deer with his companions. She immediately fell in love with him and started following him quietly. The more she looked at the young man, the more she longed for him. Though she wished with all her heart to call out to Narcissus, Hera's curse prevented her.

During the hunt, Narcissus got separated from his companions and he started calling out, "Is anyone there?" only for Echo to repeat his words. Startled, Narcissus answered the voice, "Come here" only to be told the same. When Narcissus saw that nobody had emerged from the glade he concluded that the owner of the voice must be running away from him and called out again. Finally he shouted, "This way, we must come together." Taking this to be a reciprocation of her love, Echo concurred ecstatically, "We must come together!"

In her delight, Echo rushed to Narcissus ready to throw her arms around her beloved. Narcissus however was appalled and, spurning her, exclaimed, "Hands off! May I die before you enjoy my body." All Echo could whisper in reply was, "Enjoy my body" and having done so she fled, scorned, humiliated and ashamed.

Despite the harshness of her rejection, Echo’s love for Narcissus only grew. After some days, Narcissus came by a fountain, with water like silver, which was not defaced with fallen leaves or branches, but the grass grew fresh around it, and the rocks sheltered it from the sun.Narcissus stooped down to drink, and saw his own image in the water; he thought it was some beautiful water-spirit living in the fountain. He stood gazing with admiration at those bright eyes, those curled locks, the rounded cheeks, the ivory neck, the parted lips, and the glow of health and exercise over all. He fell in love with himself. He brought his lips near to take a kiss; he plunged his arms in to embrace the beloved object. It fled at the touch, but returned again after a moment and renewed the fascination. 

He could not tear himself away; he lost all thought of food or rest, while he hovered over the brink of the fountain gazing upon his own image. He talked with the supposed spirit, “Why, beautiful being, do you shun me? Surely my face is not one to repel you. The nymphs love me, and you yourself look not indifferent upon me. When I stretch forth my arms you do the same, and you smile upon me and answer my beckoning with the like.” 

His tears fell into the water and disturbed the image. As he saw it depart, he exclaimed, “Stay, I entreat you! Let me at least gaze upon you, if I may not touch you.” With this, and much more of the same kind, he cherished the flame that consumed him, so that by degrees he lost his colour, his vigour, and the beauty which formerly had so charmed the nymph Echo.

Narcissus talking with his own reflection

Narcissus started wasting away before his own reflection - consumed by a love that could not be. Echo mourned over his body. Narcissus, looking one last time into the pool uttered, "Oh marvellous boy, I loved you in vain. Farewell." Echo too chorused, "Farewell." A flower grew at the place where the corpse of Narcissus lied. Today, we call that flower by the same name.

Narcissus flower

Eventually Echo too began to waste away. Her beauty faded, her skin shrivelled and her bones turned to stone. Today, all that remains of Echo is the sound of her voice.

Being narcissist up to some extent is normal but if a person is excessively in love with himself, we regard it as a psychological disorder called as Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NDP) in which a person is excessively preoccupied with personal adequacy, power, prestige and vanity. The patient is mentally unable to see the destructive damage they are causing to themselves and others in the process. It is estimated that this condition affects 1% of the population of the world, surprisingly with rates greater for men. NDP was first formulated in 1968 and is a form of severe egocentrism. Read more about NDP here.

You can take the 'Am I A Narcissist?' quiz here.

With this, we come to an end about the discussion of the word 'narcissist'. You may also read other versions of the myth here. I hope you are loving the posts. I would love to hear from you. Kindly drop your reviews/suggestions in the comments below. This is Vandit signing off until we meet next time. Bye!

P.S.: Reader beware, the next time we meet, you'll be in for a scare!

Sources:
http://myths.e2bn.org/mythsandlegends/userstory948-story-of-echo-and-narcissus.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echo_(mythology)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_personality_disorder