Torn from the pages of a book...give me a glimpse of a great book idea!

this question is weird but please help

Which statement best paraphrases these sentences from the text

What functions as a reflexive pronoun in the sentence the professor herself wanted to attend the conference, but it was cancelled when she and several other presenters had to excuse themselves

London includes a quote about john thornton as he is observing hal attempt to motivate the exhausted dogs "it was idle, he knew, to get between a fool and his folly". if the word "idle" is defined as "of no real worth, importance, or significance", what does this statement mean with regard to hal? who is the fool? what is hal's folly? why would john thornton think it of no real worth or useless to intervene?