FIVE FACES OF THE MALE COVERT NARCISSIST

By: Khalif Barkhadle
Digital Journalist

Published On:16th June 2025

What if you could read between the lines of someone’s personality and see the danger before it unfolds? The male covert narcissist presents five distinct faces to the world: outer behaviors that mask a deeply hidden manipulative agenda. And each of these faces is designed to disarm, confuse, and control.
Think of each face as a mask he wears to secure narcissistic supply, shift power dynamics, and keep you emotionally off-balance.

Face 1: The Stoic martyr.

On the surface, he appears calm and in control. He doesn’t complain in obvious ways. Instead, he sighs, tightens his jaw, and retreats just enough to make you feel that something’s wrong. But he won’t say it. He expects you to notice, to ask, and to give without him ever having to voice a need. He never asks for comfort or support directly; instead, he presents his suffering as silent and noble, expecting others to take care of him intuitively. His pain becomes the unspoken priority in the room while everyone else’s is quietly dismissed.

In this dynamic, emotional care flows in one direction—toward him. If you express your own needs, he’ll downplay or ignore them. If you share something painful, he’ll reframe the conversation to make it about his deeper suffering. This isn’t real stoicism. Real stoicism involves self-regulation and emotional responsibility—something covert narcissists are…