“What is it about this self-absorbed, narcissistic, mendacious villain that some women find so attractive?”
Because most of human history was dog-eats-dog, might-makes-right world. Uncaring, big strong alpha men have been historically the most materially successful.
Women who were attracted to and could get the attention of such men were the most successful. Material requirements trumped a nice personality in such a harsh environment. Being “nice” was a weakness. Women are somewhat wired to take advantage of nice men, not breed with them.
Sometimes less desirable women would compromise by allowing a nice man provide for them in exchange for some sexual favors. But they would have more sex in secret with the highest alpha men they could attract. They were also more likely to have orgasms and get pregnant by the alphas. The nice man was their meal ticket, the alpha man (who left as soon as she was pregnant) was the source of desirable genes.
It’s the same way most men have an extreme desire for women who show excellent child-bearing traits (big hips, big breasts, healthy fat stores, few flaws) and sometimes little else. They were most likely to have many children in a harsh environment with the fewest resources. Covergirls, playmates, etc are ultimate examples of this desire.
Both of these desires were bred into the male/female subconscious after thousands of years of selection.
We have only been loosely civilized sporadically for only a few hundred years at a time. Many of our desires and actions make no sense in this modern world.
Sad but probably true.