1.7.8
I think, the point that Hugo is trying to get across in the first paragraph is that the model of a factory with a benevolent owner who shares the profits is a workable model (it collapses later on, because it is only supported by one person) but overall, I think Hugo is more positive than negative about the model of a factory owner becoming rich through his labours and sharing the profits with the town to increase its prosperity and in supporting other businesses with his own money.
Valjean on the other hand, does not like the deference that the judge shows him, simply due to his popularity and the name of Madeleine, which is the thing giving him respectability, it's a facade he had created which is all but crumbled.
The final moment of his being in the chamber is the last chance at the life he is leading and of keeping the name of Madeleine, before being ushered into the courts where he was first sentenced and where another person’s fate will be decided. It is not surprising that Valjean is terrified of going in and turns back in terror, trying to escape, not only the past but the future of being sentenced for life and put in chains.
This is the last time his mind struggles under the stress of the decision he is about to take and wanders to other objects and ideas without taking them in, although even then he is thinking of Fantine and Cosette, rather than of himself. His tempest in the skull comes to an end. His conscience or God make him turn him round and return to the court.
The way it is described though, the sweat on his brow, the difficulty he has in going in, makes my heart ache. It is a metaphorical burial/drowning, and Valjean’s sweat is cold and he has to force himself to walk through those gates.
