Here are some other examples of non-solitary creativity,
either explicit or implicit:
In The Defense, Luzhin is taught
chess by his favorite aunt, who is, if I remember
correctly, having an affair with his father. Chess then
becomes his life, and surely those psychologists not to be
mentioned here might have something to say about it. Had
someone else taught him (perhaps the violinist--the book
frequently compares chess to music), would he have become
obsessed with the game?
In Glory, at the
end of the novel, Martin (returning from the Otherworld)
passes on his love for Malory/Pushkin/mystery/art to
Darwin, who had lost his inspiration as a promising
artist. This is all implied, and if necessary, see my
article on it in the London conference volumes.
And
of course in Pale Fire, Shade reads all his notecards
to Sybil as he writes them. She has been his muse
since high school.