Narcissistic rage functions in two ways in relation to narcissistic hurt, and narcissistic vulnerability in general. It is a reaction to the hurt, from the hurt. The student feels deeply wounded and reacts out of this hurt with extreme anger. So we can see it as a normal reaction to hurt. However, it has special characteristics because the narcissistic hurt is different from other kinds of emotional pain. The fact that this wound is very vulnerable, and opens up to an emptiness signifying the dissolution of identity, imbues the reactive anger with an intensity and a hardness rarely seen in other kinds of anger. The reaction may actually precede the awareness of the hurt; the person will often experience the rage reaction and then, if at all, become consciously aware of the hurt. She perceives the failure of the selfobject and reacts to this failure directly with rage and indignation. Only on investigation, or after the rage has passed, does she realize that she has felt hurt and wounded. However, the rage may arise only after she has felt the hurt, and understood the loss of mirroring. – The Point of Existence: Transformation of Narcissism in Self-Realization, Ch. 32