Persecution: A Thought

I wonder if Lovecraft felt persecuted. I ask this because I'm reading his story "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward." In it, the named character has his heritage investigated by his doctor to discover the root of Ward's madness. Ward's heritage us traced to Ward's ancestors Joseph Curwin who preformed maddening acts of witchcraft and science and contrary acts of kindness and fellowship to the locals. Most likely this was a veiled attempt of Curwin to hide his more unfavorable acts from the community. I'm only at the halfway point in the story but as always, Lovecraft paints a masterpiece of horror. It's fascinating how each chapter or paragraph contains hints of the evil in the Ward family thst kept me on my seat. 

But back to my main point, does Lovecraft use Curwin as a metaphor for himself? Usually Lovecrsft stories have someone researching into things far beyond what should be safe which leads them to monsters. But Curwin is the main investigator in this story. He's the one doing the research into things that shouldn't be known. This has, based on my halfway point in the story, led Curwin to his doom but not by monsters. Instead the locals rose up and raided Curwin's home and burned what remained. Lovecraft acknowledges in his letters that he is an under appreciated writer whom, in my opinoin, should have seen more fame in his life time. But it makes me wonder if Lovecraft saw himself in Curwin. A man obsessed with knowledge who was held back by his own limitations. It's possible that Lovecraft used Curwin to showcase how people are hindered by others. 

I don't have much to back this up but this is just a thought.