Was Almira Gulch (Wicked Witch) owning/riding a bicycle an 'obvious' (for the time) criticism of independent, (mature) women with personal wealth and who had freedom of movement thanks to personal means of transport?

Or was it jsut supposed to emulate riding a broom for the purposes of the transformation in the tornado?
(Still a decent transformation sequence IMO).

Or did that just enhance the point?

I know most audience members don't like her for wanting to get Dorothy's dog taken away (I mean, he DID allegedly bite her!) so I wonder if audiences back then could see other markers that she's a 'nasty' lady that haven't necessarily carried across to today?

#WizardOfOz1939 #WomenInFilm #WitchesInFilm #Witches #MyBrainMadeThis #WickedWitch