This is good:
Narcissists have basically three groups of people in their circle.
- The victim(s): This is a very small group and is the person who is closest in relationship or proximity to the Narcissist. It is most likely a spouse or family member. This is the person or group of people who see under the Narcissist's mask. They are on the receiving end of abuse due to seeing the true character and self of the Narcissist. This group is subjected to verbal abuse, psychological abuse, contempt, and hatred, especially when things are not going well in the Narcissist's life. The Narcissist will project his/her negative traits onto the victim(s). The victims are expendable and subject to discard at whim.
- The ones they deem worthy of admiring them: This group is the people the Narcissist considers to be below him/her in status. These are the people the Narcissist associates with out of pity or because they provide the Narcissist with positive or negative supply in the form of admiration (positive) or drama (negative). The Narcissist receives supply from this group by constantly pointing out to himself and others that he is "so much better than those losers." The Narcissist has deemed these people worthy of admiring him and his obvious higher status in life. The Narcissist does not choose the people in this group to be his/her friends, they just had the unfortunate luck of finding the narcissist in their life such as coworkers, neighbors, classmates at school, etc. The Narcissist remains friends with this group for entertainment purposes only. He/She may socialize with this group when he is lacking other sources of supply or out of boredom, but he seldom forms meaningful, lasting friendship bonds with anyone in this group. He/she often uses people in this group too for favors, jobs, places to live, etc. It is not uncommon for the narcissists to speak badly about these people behind their backs, especially to other people in the group. The people in this group are expendable also and subject to discard should they ever challenge the Narcissist or say something to others against the Narcissist.
- The ones they are trying to impress: This is the most important group to the Narcissist. This group of people is usually more successful than the Narcissist, therefore the Narcissist desires to be them. By infiltrating their circle and ingratiating himself/herself into the group, the Narcissist elevates his status vicariously through his/her association with these individuals. These are also the people who have never and WILL NEVER see beneath the mask if the Narcissist has anything to do with it. They think he is a great guy/gal and they see him/her as the life of the party and always a good friend, always ready to lend a helping hand or an encouraging word to their friends. These people are being played the most, however. Their role, unbeknownst to them is to provide the Narcissist with reinforcement of his/her cognitive dissonance/fantasy life simply by believing and not questioning the things the Narcissist tells them. These people feed the false self of the Narcissist simply because they don't know better. They are being fooled by a chameleon who will morph himself/herself into anything he/she needs to in order to fit in with this group of people. He will change his religion, his taste of music, his interest in food, etc. just to be a continual part of the group at whatever cost. The Narcissist goes to great lengths to shield these people from anyone in his/her past who knows the true self and truth of the ugly abuser.
from here.
