I've read that Paul is referring to a mirror (a looking glass). Back then, mirrors were made of polished metal (unlike the clear mirrors invented centuries later), and so you couldn't see yourself that clearly in it.
You may be right about the literal meaning.
To me, many/most of the verses and stories in the bible are metaphors with deeper non-literal meanings.
That text is one of my favorites. To me, it means that we don't see or understand many things -- but when we are joined again with our God in heaven, understanding and vision will be perfectly clear. Much like that story on quantum physics (which does have some similarity with our consciousness).
In other words, it's "darkly" now, but then it will be perfectly clear and understandable.
We all get to interpret. Right?